


Faceless (Levi Ackerman)

by KarasunoParkingLot



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Abuse, Bickering, Child Abuse, Death, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Levi Ackerman - Freeform, OC is a goofball but also badass, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strong Language, The Underground, Training, Will eventually catch up will main story, rape is only insinuated, survey corps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26955433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarasunoParkingLot/pseuds/KarasunoParkingLot
Summary: There were two reasons she wore a mask. One, because she was the vigilante of the underground, killing those who do wrong. Two, if people found out who she truly was, she would be hunted down. She thought her life would always stay the same, until one day the Survey Corps decide they want her to fight against the titans. She agrees to join them under one condition, she gets to keep her mask on at all times - no one could find out who she truly was.
Relationships: Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 45
Kudos: 267





	1. Faceless

In the thick of night, the Underground was silent. Only prostitutes and men who were having affairs roam the streets. Kids were fast asleep in their beds while mums cleaned the best they could. Hygiene was of the utmost import in the Underground, because if you became sick, the chances were low for you to recover.

On top of a building, far to the north, sat Faceless. A petite woman, with a black balaclava covering her head. Her loose blonde strands escaped the bottom of her disguise, and her bright blue eyes shone through the slit in the cotton fabric. It was her only distinguishable feature, but those who ever saw them up close would not live to tell the tale.

She had many nicknames in the Underground. 'Night Owl'. 'Watcher of the Underground'. 'Protector of the Underground'. 'Ninja'. 'Stealth'. And many more, but Faceless seemed to be the one that stuck. There were more discussions about how Faceless looked than anything else. It was a mystery to everyone. No one seemed to know anything about them, and it frightened everyone even further, the Underground's own boogeyman.

_"You won't hear him until he is on top of you and your neck is slit."_

_"There is never a sound, just blood. No screams, or begging for life, just the ending of life."_

_"But he only ever goes for those who cause trouble; there is no need to worry if you follow the law."_

That's what people would say, and all of it was correct, except for one thing, she was a girl - a woman - and it made it far easier to stay hidden. No one would ever be looking at her as a suspect if they continued thinking Faceless was a male. Despite only going for criminals, police were still looking for her. In the end, she was a murder, but she preferred the word vigilante. If the law would not protect the people of the Underground, then she would.

She stood as a scream filled the silent air. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Lights lit up the streets, though most were broke causing patches of darkness, some twitched on and off, and even the ones that did work had not been changed in years, on the verge of dying, the light a dull yellow on the wonky street. She closed her eyes, focusing her senses on her hearing- another scream. Her mind followed the sound - the wind acting like sound waves. The buildings around blurred, and the world grew slightly darker as a single spotlight led the way. There was an alleyway three buildings down. It was filled with rubbish and rats, and a broken ladder which made it hard for anyone to walk through. At the end of the alleyway, the sound waves faded. She breathed deeply, and another another scream made her look to the right, down a main street. The sound waves shot up as her mind raced down the brick layered floor before taking a sharp left, finding the back of an abandoned pub. Two men stood at the top of some stairs, pinning down a women half their size.

Faceless opened her eyes and shot down the path she had just seen. In seconds she was at the top of the building, staring down at the two men and women they captured. Faceless was about to strike until the women bit the man's hand which was covering her face.

"You better run now," she spat, "Faceless will be here soon, and he'll kill you for taking me!" The man laughed and slapped her across the face.

"Shut up, you dumb bitch."

"Faceless? What's Faceless?" The smaller man asked, worry filling his voice.

"It's a dumb rumour, a myth even, about a thug, as fast and as quiet as the wind they say. He is everywhere, but also nowhere. He kills those that do wrong," the man laughed at his friend's terrified expression.

The friend forced a chuckle, "why is he called Faceless?"

"Because no one has ever seen his face, he always has a mask on." Once again, the large man chuckled loudly, as if he had told the funniest of jokes. "Can you believe people think that it is real? It's just the Military Police. They added a fake persona so they could get away with murder." He turned back to the women. "Now the thing is," he got close to her face, "there's no Military Police around to save you!" He grabbed the women's cheeks with his dirty hands, squeezing them together, so her lips were forced into a pout. "You're going to be mine tonight..." he forced his lips onto hers before flying across the alleyway.

The women and smaller man froze—both frantically looking around. There was nothing, and neither had seen what sent the large man flying into the wall across from them.

"HE'S HERE!" The women cheered, a smile forming on her face. But the smaller man was petrified, and grabbed her quickly, pulling a knife to her throat.

"L-leave us a-alone! Otherwise, I'll kill h-her!" His eyes frantically looked around, his hand shaking, the blade getting closer to her neck. Before he could take another breath, his hand and blade dropped to the floor. The man screamed in pain and terror as he saw blood at the end of his arm. He had no time to scream again before his same blade - which was on the floor only a moment ago - sliced across his neck. His mouth opened, a strained gasp escaped his lips before he fell to the ground, landing on the woman. She yelped and she tried to squirm her way out from underneath him.

The larger man finally stood, his hand on his pounding head. His eyesight was blurry, but he could see his deads friend laying on the floor opposite him. He said nothing as he tried to run, tripping over his feet and stumbling to the floor. His head snapped left and right as he tried to look for the killer. He froze when he saw a shadow to his left.

"Please, I'm sorry," he cried, "I've got two kids at home waiting for me. You won't let my kids grow up without a d-" his sentence was cut short when his head was separated from his body. It rolled on the ground towards the woman who was finally to her feet.

"Thank you!" She said, both grateful and horrified. "What can I give you? Money?"

Faceless grinned as she crouched down to the headless man. Her hands searched his pockets, taking out any money he had before doing the same to the smaller man. The woman watched, analysing Faceless, though she could make nothing out as he stayed in the shadows. His outfit was completely dark, allowing him to blend in with the darkness.

"Please, let me give you something. Anything! You saved my life!" The woman insisted, getting closer to Faceless. Faceless turned to her, and she pulled her index finger to her lips. It was a simple gesture, but the woman understood what it meant. She was not to speak of what happened that night. The woman nodded, swallowing nervously.

Before turning away, Faceless grabbed a single coin from the ones she took from the dead men and balanced it on her thumb. A moment later she flicked it high in the air towards the woman, who watched it in awe and caught it with ease. She looked back to where Faceless stood, wanting to thank him again, but he had disappeared.

_As fast and as silent as the wind._

The sun was starting to come up, and Faceless' pockets were overflowing with cash from those she had killed. It was a busier night than usual, she did not have a moment's rest, and had been around the whole of the Underground. But now it was time for her to head home and sleep. She was nocturnal, awake during the nights, and asleep during the day, but she had to make a quick stop first.

_Louise's Bakery_

Faceless had a glance around to check she was alone before lifting the mat outside the side door and picking up the spare key. It was a spare key, especially for her, and she had one for most of the shops. In the beginning, after her night of helping those in need, she would break into shops to get things she needed to survive but always left cash behind to pay for both the things she needed and the repairs of the shop. After a few months, shop keepers started to realise that she only broke in because she had too, and so by giving her a key she was able to go by her business without causing an unnecessary ruckus.

Faceless fought for the people; she killed those that were unwanted by society and supported those that helped it grow. The Military was looking for her, but the people did not want her to get caught. They helped where they could, and ensured she would not get caught, because once she was gone, who would protect them?

Louise Bakery was the place Faceless would go to once a year. It was the only place in the whole Underground that sold birthday cakes. It was not celebrated much in the Underground, many not caring, knowing that their life would be wasted away. But Faceless liked the idea of birthdays. Helped her keep track of the time that went by.

Like the last five years, a birthday cake waited on the counter for her. The owner - Lousie - had figured out her birthday after she had broken into the place the same day the three years prior. It was a gesture Faceless extremely appreciated, and she made sure to leave more money than needed for the woman. She wrapped the container that held the cake before leaving quickly back to her home. She had to be extra careful on her way back to make sure no one was following her. There had been a few attempts to find where she lived. Most failed to keep up with her, some got lucky and found her in the right place and right time, but none lived to snake her to the police.

Some people in the Underground despised her; she was a murder after all - killing with no remorse, no concern for the family of the person. But Faceless did not care; she only killed those that did wrong. Most were men who tried to rape women, others were thugs that tried to steal from those who worked hard, and the odd time it was a child. But even Faceless was not so evil, she would not kill a child, no matter what they did, but instead killed a family member. Actions had consequences, and quicker the child learnt that the better off they would be. It meant that she had some enemies around, but any that tried to attack her instantly got wiped out.

A single candle was able to light up her whole house - if one could even call it that. She took it over to the cake she had placed on the counter and lit up a few candles that were stuck into it. It was homemade, a message on top that read:

'Thank you for everything you have done for us.''

She pulled off her balaclava, her blonde hair falling just above her shoulders as she watched the flicker of the fire. It would be her eighth year alone celebrating her birthday. She sighed softly and blew out the candles.

"Happy birthday to me..." she said softly to herself.

A tear threatened to fall, but she blinked it away and smiled. She hated being alone, but she was glad she could help those that needed it most. She was alone, so a woman who was going to get raped could return to her kids. She was alone, so a teenager who was working hard one late night could return home to his ill father. She was alone, so others did not have to be, and she was okay with that. She smiled and stood, walking over to one of her walls, knife in hand. She dug it into the wall, before dragging it down, ripping into the wallpaper. She pulled it away and placed her middle finger on the deep line she had created, ensuring it was smooth, before dragging it across the wall and allowing her finger to go over the twenty others lines and were carved into the wall. She stopped at the last one.

"I wonder how many more years I'll be alive until I get caught..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is my Twitter that is purely for writing
> 
> Will put on there when I update and new stories ideas I have
> 
> https://twitter.com/karasunowriting?s=09


	2. The Haisiki Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Abuse // Rape

"Here it is. The Haunted house of the Haisiki family." Three boys stood outside a rotting building. All its windows were bordered up with pieces of old wood. The titles on the roof were hanging on by a thread, the windows that did remain were smashed, glass littering the front garden. The titles that led up to the house were cracked, and the door itself was half attached, only the bottom hinge holding it up. The dark paint of the wood started to chip, showing the true natural brown wood colour underneath, but that did not stop the feeling of dread anyone felt when near the building.

"Why is it haunted?" The youngest of the three boys asked, taking a step away from the gate that was slightly open, almost luring him in.

"It is said eight years ago, on the night of October 31, the Haisiki family were murdered. A thug entered their house through the top window," all the boys looked up at the boarded window, the once white curtain was now stained with dirt and blood. "he snuck around the house as they ate, hid and waited for them to go to sleep, and once they did," the oldest boy's voice grew quieter, the other two unconsciously leaning closer to him, "BAM!" the two other boys jumped, "HE SLIT THEIR THROATS AND WATCHED AS THEY CHOKED ON THEIR OWN BLOOD! The mum, dad and little girl were killed, and now they haunt the house." The oldest boy laughed at the youngest's terrified expression.

"Wait, that's not how the story goes! The dad went crazy and killed the mum and his son; it was a boy, not a girl!" The blonde boy told the oldest. "And it's the little boy that haunts the house, not the whole family!"

The two boys started to argue back and forth on which story was correct—yelling loud enough for the neighbours down the street to stick their heads out to tell them to go home. The youngest of the boys ignored the commotion that was happening around him. His eyes zoned in on the dirty white curtain on the upstairs window. It blew in the wind, revealing a slight gap in the barricaded pieces of wood. He stepped forward, intrigued by what was inside. Suddenly he froze as a flash of light past the opening. He tried to steady his breathing, his hand reaching for the open gate and slowly making his way to the front door. His head tilted to the side as he walked up two battered wooden steps, trying to read the writing that was engraved on the door frame.

_Stay away_

_DO NOT ENTER_

_Run while you can_

The boy let out a nervous breath as he stood on the porch, the floorboard creaking under his weight. He averted his eyes back to the front door to see a pair of blue eyes, staring at him through the cracks between the wood. He shrieked, stumbling backwards, tripping on his own feet and falling down the stairs. The other two boys stopped arguing and looked over to him, but before they could say anything, the youngest climbed to his feet, sprinting past his friends and away from the house, his cries waking up anyone that may have been sleeping.

Faceless smirked as she watched the other two boys run off after their friends, more rumours about the house the better, more people would stay away. Though it did also mean more people would try to enter the house, proving their 'bravery' to their friends, but she was quick to scare them away, everyone assuming the house was indeed haunted. Many stories scattered the Underground of what happened to the Haisiki family, but no one knew what actually happened, expect Faceless.

\--

Twelve-year-old Faceless stood at the foot of the table; her white gown was covered in blood as tears ran down her face. Her eyes were wide, staring down to the floor where more blood seeped into the floorboards. Her blonde hair hung forward, blocking her side vision, and the sight of the dead women, Faceless' mother, laying on the floor. She used the back of her left hand to remove the snot that was leaking from her nose.

"You - stupid - girl!" The man - her father - spat, breathing between each word as blood out of his mouth. "What are - you going to - do now? What - are you - without me?" Faceless' grip on the knife in her right hand tightened. It too was now the colour of which covered her mother's lifeless body.

"I'll figure it out." She said, her voice lacking any emotion.

The man laughed, but then coughed, choking on the blood that was pooling in his mouth. He turned his head to the side, spitting it out so he could breathe better. He looked up to Faceless.

"No one - knows you exist - you'll die alone - you'll starve!" He coughed again before gasping loudly, trying to suck in any air he could. Faceless said nothing, glaring at him. "Why don't - you just - finish - me off?"

Her head twitched to the side. The darkness underneath her eyes made it seem like she had not slept for days. She crouched down so she saw eye level with him. "You made me suffer," she whispered. The man's face paled as he met her eyes. They were vacant, blood dripping down her cheek. Her normal bright blue eyes were dull, closer to black than the crystal diamond they should have been. The man who used to bring fear into his victims just by a glance of the eye was now cowering under the stare of a twelve-year-old girl. "Now I'll make you suffer."

A sudden strained gasped escaped his lips; his eyes widened, his pupils shot open for a moment as he felt a sharp pain in his side. Her expression stayed still as she slowly pushed her knife deeper into his body. She watched emotionless as he struggled to breathe, her eyes never leaving his. After a few seconds, his body finally relaxed, the fear in his eyes faded, and his chest stopped moving.

Faceless yanked the knife out of him. The crimson liquid dripped on the floor, leaving spots on the floor as she stood. She stared at him for a few moments. The wrinkles on his face that use to be so deep as he always frowned were now faded lines. His thin lips that formed the evil smirk that used to haunt her dreams was now a simple straight line. 

A chuckle escaped her lips. She looked up to the ceiling as she laughed again, but this time it was harder. Her bloody hand came to her forehead. She was free. The realisation hit, and she found herself laughing even more. She had done it. After years of abuse, she finally took charge; she made a change. She dropped the knife; it landed with a thud on the wooden floor as she closed her eyes. Tears started to form at the bottom of them, falling down her cheeks after a moment of balancing on her waterline.

Faceless was unsure if they were truly happy tears or not, because not too far from her father's dead body sat Milo, her younger brother, who had took his last breathe minutes ago. When their father had returned home from another drunken night, he would take it out on her and Milo, but that night, he went too far, and when he pushed Milo, he tripped and banged his head on the kitchen counter, knocking him unconscious, blood spilling from his head. That was when Faceless attacked. She had had enough of the pain; she wanted a better life for both her and Milo.

\--

The house inside was the opposite to the outside; it was clean, and far from rotting. Faceless did not sleep much; she was lucky ever to get more than four hours a night. Anxious that people would try to break into the house, try to capture her, terrified she would be abused again. Most nights, she would wake up from the same reoccurring nightmare.

Four men would enter the house. One from the front door, one from the back, and the other two through the top windows. She would be sleeping peacefully when they would grab her. They kidnapped her, beat her, _touch_ her and no matter how many times she was taken away, she could never escape the house they took her too. She had played out the scenario hundreds of times, and no matter what she did, she was trapped. Sometimes they killed her, and she would wake up in a pool of sweat. Other times time they would torture her, testing her pain tolerance as they beat her, and she would wake up, her body aching as if they really had been attacking her. But the worse was then they treated her like a toy, an object, and would take turns fucking her until she woke up begging from them to stop, hot tears streaming down her face.

It was a dream she wished would end, one that reminded her how alone she was. She had no one to talk to about it, no one to tell to help her mind rest. Instead, she closed her eyes each night, wondering how the dream would end that time, and how would she wake up. She would pass the remaining hours where she should have been sleeping with cleaning. The Underground was filthy, no matter where a person looked rubbish would always be lingering. It had become accepted that the place was practically a dump, and most were working on getting enough money to go to the top.

Faceless was not one of them. She did not see the point in going to the top; she would have needed citizenship, which would reveal her true identity. Then she would have been hunted down.

 _"They want you for your bloodline,"_ her mother once told her, _"your family were once very important people, you are special. That is why no one can know who you are. Once they do, they'll stop at nothing until they get you."_

Still to that day, Faceless did not understand what her mother meant. It made her realise a few things, though. The people caring for her were not her birth mother or father, and Milo was not her blood brother. It explained why she looked so different from all three of them. It also made Faceless wonder why they were keeping her safe. She narrowed it down to two reasons.

One - her real mother and father had sent her to the Underground to keep her safe, and the people took her in were either paid or did it out of the good of their hearts - which Faceless highly doubted. They were not good people. Her father or fake father was a bastard. Would get drunk every night and often beat Milo and Faceless, leaving them covered in bruises the following morning. Faceless would often fight back, ensuring she took more hits than Milo, who was a few years younger than her.

Two - they were keeping Faceless for themselves to one day sell to those above. Wait till she was of age, wait til she could continue the bloodline. If what they said was true, she was surely of high value, especially if her offspring would also carry her 'special' heritage.

Either way, the reason she was at the Haisiki household was not good. And she did not regret ending their lives.

Faceless stared at herself in the mirror that hung in the bathroom. Her blonde hair sat just above her shoulders, the parting unequal as she pushed her hair back, pulling more over the right than left. Her eyes were large and round; she could see the candle flame in the reflection of her dark pupil that was surrounded by her crystal blue iris. Her nose was small - like a button, and her lips thin. On her right cheek, a scar ran from the corner of her lip to the bottom of the cheekbone. She placed her index finger at the top and traced it down to her lips. She had no memory on how she got the scar, just that it had always been there, something she assumed she got at a very young age.

Gently, she pulled her hand away and looked straight on at herself before grinning. Her cheeks raised, making her eyes slightly smaller than before. Her teeth were white and skin pale - one could not get much darker than her without ever seeing the sun. She grabbed her mask and pulled it over her head. Her scar and hair covered, as long as no one ever saw her face, she would be safe.


	3. Fair Fight

Faceless continued her routes as the time had just gone past three am. She had taken a few thugs out and another man who thought they could try to penetrate a woman without her permission. That's the main type of person she would end up killing. Sometimes she purposely would make them suffer, so in their final moments, they could realise they were not as inferior as they as thought. She would look down on them as they begged for their lives; she always found herself smiling as she gave the final blow. Knowing she had just helped - saved - a woman from the horrible act of being raped. Faceless - unfortunately - knew that feeling too well, at an age too young, and since she would not allow it to happen to anyone else.

She stopped at the top of one of the taller buildings in the Underground. She glanced around. She had known for a while that someone had been following her; but they were more skilled than the previous people who had attempted. She could not pin down their whereabouts, and even a few times, she tried to throw them off her scent, but they still seemed to be lurking. She crouched down and placed her hand on the concrete brick and closed her eyes. - focusing all her abilities on her hearing and feeling the vibrations underneath her hand.

They were closer now, on her left. Her eyebrows scrunched together as a rush of air was heard in her right ear. There was more than one. She kept her eyes shut and tried to focus as the sound of shuffling made her realise more people stood on the roof opposite her. She focused on her breathing. Slowly in, slowly out.

Her mind zoomed to her left, where the building cut off, and another building - far lower - was, and on that roof, there was a person, tall, a green cape wrapped around him with his hood up, not allowing Faceless to see him. On the roof in front stood two more people with the same uniform, and to the left stood another three, all hoods up, hiding their faces.

Faceless' eyes moved frantically behind her closed eyelids as her mind searched the street. She had two viable escape plans. Down the bottom left, a few blocks away was an alleyway, but it would lead to the main street, there were fewer places to hide or run down secret tunnels. 

However, going left would leave the three on her right further behind, and only the one person to her left and the two in front would be hot on her tail, but she would be able to lose them with ease with her parkour knowledge of the street. The other option was going directly behind the building she was sitting on - the road led to the rougher area of the Underground. Still, it's cramp set of houses were filled with hundreds of small nooks and crannies that Faceless could lose the people in, but going that way meant the three on her right would be hot on her tail.

Faceless was not so usually panicked, she was used to people following her, but her instincts told her these people were trouble, and her instinct was always right. The last few hours, she only thought one person had been following her, when in fact there were seven, and maybe, even more, she could not sense or hear. She needed to lose them as quickly as possible and get back ho-

**_SCRAPE_ **

Faceless' eyes shot open; she whipped around. Her eyes wide as a man stood inches from her. She could see no emotion in his grey-blue eyes. His arm reached forward to grab her, but she turned and jumped off the building in less than a second, his finger inches from grabbing the back of her jumper.

She panted heavily and shot off around the alleyway, jumping over the rubbish that was left behind, and onto the main street. Despite the time, there were still many people out and about, all of them drunk, singing, throwing up. She pushed past a crowd and jumped on a ladder and made her what to the top, staying in the shadows. She needed a breather to analyse her surroundings but had no time as she heard the sound of whirling coming from behind.

_They have ODM gear?_

Faceless sprinted across the buildings, and jumped from one to another, getting deeper into the city. She knew she had lost a few of them; the whirling sound was far quieter than before. She stopped at a small building, dropping down off the roof and hiding on a person's balcony. She watched the street below through the bared fence but sat far back in the shadows not to reveal herself.

Usually, those who chased her were ordinary civilians whose friend she had killed and wanted revenge, but no ordinary civilian could get ODM Gear. It was strictly for the Garrisons, which only ever stayed up above, the Scout Regiment, which had no use in the Underground, and the Military Police, but never once had the Military ever tried to hunt her down before. Had they finally changed their mind? Why?

Her hands came together as she tried to calm herself down; she was never one to panic before. But eight, maybe even more people were chasing after her, and all of them had ODM gear. Could she escape? She shook her head roughly; she could not think like that. She had been running from people for years, and no one had caught her before, why should it change now?

As she stood, one of the streetlamps turned on, her whole body lighting up just as one of the men with ODM gear passed. Time slowed as they met eyes as he swung past. It was the same man from before, the eyes of the one that seemed that lacked emotion. The whirling came to a stop; the sound of metal crashing against the wall came to her left. She had no time to think as she climbed back onto the roof and sprinted off in the other direction. She knew the man was close behind as she weaved through different alleyways, climbing over and under everything that could throw him off her scent, but he was not easily distracted, like an eagle staring at its prey from above.

Just as Faceless was about to enter another busy street, two grapple hooks smashed into the wall either side of her. The whirling from behind sped up, her eyes widened, and she shot to the floor, laying on the ground as the man narrowing missed her. His feet touched the floor a few inches in front of her, she looked up see him staring down at her, his arm outstretched and the blade in his hand inches from her face. She focused on her breathing and tried not to show any emotion in her eyes.

Her mind raced with ideas on how to escape. If she were able to get to her feet and run from the direction she came from, he would trip her up and hold the blade to her neck. There was a ladder just behind where he stood. If she could bring him down to his knees, she could climb it and get away through the houses that connected along the street. But even if she got to the ladder, he would bring her down with his ODM gear. No escape seemed viable - she needed to take him out first.

The man stayed still; she wondered what he was thinking. 

_Was he waiting for back up?_

She did not have time for that. Before he could react, her right arm lifted and pushed the blade from her face, before swinging her legs around and swiping his form under him and sending him to the floor, but as she got to her feet, so did he, unphased by her action.

_He's fast._

She changed her stance to ensure her balance was equal and pulled out her blade from her inner pocket. He stood straight, placing his ODM blades away, back into their sockets and pulling out his own blade. Her head coked to the side, a smirk forming on her lips.

_He respects a fair fight._

Neither moved, studying each other, he was only an inch or two taller than her, but Faceless realised she was the one limited on time - if his friends arrived, she was in trouble. Without hesitation, she launched forward with her knife, narrowly missing his neck as he took a step back. As she passed his body, his arm raised and pushed onto the small of her back, sending her flying into the wall. She had not expected it, sucking in a sharp breath as her nails scraped against the wall. She turned as soon as her body touched the layered bricks, she faced him, but before she could move a blade was at her throat.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the man's dark hair beside her cheek. His chest barely moved as she felt his hot breath against the cloth close to her ear. His eyes met hers, and for the first time, she felt helpless. 

Never had she had a blade at her neck before.

"I've heard a lot about you, but I guess it was all just talk." Even his voice held no emotion.

Faceless closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She could get out of it, she always did. She had the strength to push him off, then what? He was fast; he could dodge her attacks. She would swing forward with one hand, but if she missed, it would take her off balance, and he would counter-attack. But if she faked it out, and while he was dodging attacked? Her eyes opened.

In an instance, Faceless raised her arms and placed them on his chest, and with a _hmp_ pushed him back, though he did not move as much as she hoped. She only made enough room for her left arm to swing up and grab his right wrist that held the blade. Using her shoulder, she barged into his, forcing him to unbalance, she turned, so his back was now against the wall. She held his gaze, only for a moment before pushing his hand with the blade against the wall. But he held onto it firmly, despite being in an unfavourable position.

"Not bad," he said. Her eyebrows scrunched together; she glanced from him to the knife, her way of telling him to drop it. "You really don't talk; I guess some rumours are true." Frustrated she pulled back her right hand and aimed at his wrist, she needed to get rid of his blade. Suddenly, just before impact, he pulled his arm down, forcing her knuckles to smash into the wall. She held back a scream, her other hand cradling her now bloody right one.

However, she had no time to tend to her wound as the man launched a right hook her way, she ducked under his arm and threw a punch into his stomach, making him hurl over. She took the opportunity to stand up, and elbowed him in the back, sending him to the ground. His body spread out on the floor as he caught his breath, but she was not silly, such a simple attack would not take him out, she needed to take away his weapon before the fight continued. His arm spread in front of him, blade still tightly held. She stomped onto his wrist, causing a _tch_ to leave his lips. He did not let go, so she rubbed her foot aggressively further into it.

She stopped. Her mind in slow motion as she glanced down to him, his arm lifted and aimed for her other foot, he swung, but just before he grabbed it, she jumped over it, but it gave him time to stand, blade still in his hand. There was not another moments break as the two launched at each other again. Sending blow for blow, hit for hit, they dodged each others attack, but there was always a counter. It was dance; they were in step with each other despite trying to take each other out.

Finally, though, she found an opening, her left hand struck, her fist colliding with the side of his jaw, and straight after her right hand hooked under, landing a direct hit to the bottom of his face, sending into the air and to the floor. Faceless breathed heavily as she watched her opponent on the floor, his face with filled with bruises and blood dripping from his mouth - if she had her mask off, she doubted she looked any different.

She stumbled over to him, and as he started to lift his head, she sent another punch to his face, launching him back to the floor. She fell on top of him exhausted, her legs straddling him. She heaved as she blocked another one of his attacks. She started punching him, though they were sloppy, barley hitting his face with each attempt. His hands were pushing on her face to block her vision as she attempted a few more. She wanted to finish him off, but found she had no energy. She needed to get away before others arrived.

Faceless got to her feet - witch required far more energy than she would have liked to admit - before stumbling away from him, he tried to grab her foot, but she kicked it away from his grasp. Her hand gripped the side of the ladder tightly, holding herself up. She looked back to the man one more time; he was slowly getting to his feet. She heaved as she pulled herself up, her feet finding the bars and her aching legs barely allowing her to push up the ladder. She glanced back, and the man had just gotten to his feet, but he was toppled over, hands on his knees, trying to find his breathe.

She blamed the exhaustion for not seeing what happened next. She blamed that her vision was fuzzy and she could not think straight. But suddenly, her outer layer got yanked from below. She didn't let go of the ladder as a small squeal escaped her lips. She looked down to see a different person in the same uniform grab her. She had no will power to fight, so she allowed her outer layer to be pulled off, leaving her in a tighter black long-sleeved top. She did not care they had her jacket; she needed to get away from them. As she focused on speeding up her ascend of the ladder, her face paled. At the very top of the ladder stood another man in the same uniform.

She was trapped.

No matter where she looked or how hard she thought, she was trapped.

The man above held onto the railings beside him before sending a strong kick to her face, she let go of the ladder, having no more energy to fight back. She dropped to the ground and gasped loudly as her back collided with the floor. Her vision was blurry, but she watched as the man above jumped down with ease. He grabbed her arm, and the other man who grabbed her jacket grabbed her other arm. She was forced to her knees, her head dropped.

She was caught.

"Not bad, brat." The man she had been fighting finally stood tall, wiping away the blood that dripped from his mouth. "Take it off."

"NO!" Faceless yelled, taking them all by surprise, she was struggling to breathe, her eyes wide in fear. The man in front of her met her eyes, and for the first time, his expression changed, though she was unsure what too. "Please, not the - mask," she said between heavy breaths. "I'll - do whatever - you want - just leave - my mask - on."


	4. Not the only one

Levi's eyes scanned the masked person that knelt in front of him. They were strong and skilful; there was no doubt about it; they had taken him down fair and square. Levi was sure the person was a man but small and quick like he was, but when they spoke, he became unsure. Their voice was high, at first he thought they were possibly a young boy, but Faceless had been around for years, it was impossible they were still so young.

His eyes scanned them up and down, the outer layer they were wearing when they were fighting had been thrown to the side, leaving them in a tighter set of clothing, and that is when he realised. He met _her_ eyes, even in the darkness that was the alleyway he could see how blue they were. Levi's hand lifted, stopping the two men from removing her mask.

Faceless' head dropped relieved, her eyes shut as she continued to focus on catching her breath.

"Thank - you," she muttered. Her hands were brought to her back and handcuffed before the two men let go of her. But she had no strength left, barely able to hold herself up; she started to fall forward.

"You have two choices," the man she had fought said, kneeling, his arm out and hand on her shoulder to stop her from falling. "We either turn you into the Military Gaurd, or you join the Survey Corps." She was unsure she had heard the man correctly and blinked her eyes open. She caught a glimpse of the badge that sat on the left side of his uniform.

_The Wings Of Freedom...The Scout Regiment._

"You want me in the Survey Corps?" She repeated, thinking she had heard him wrong.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't think you're in the position to be questioning it."

Faceless opened her mouth a few times to respond but ending up saying nothing. She did not understand what was happening. Why would the Survey Corps want her?

"I don't have all day," he said.

"I can't leave..." she mumbled.

"What?" even though he was only a few inches from her, he missed what she said.

"I can't leave. People here trust me; they expect me to help them...I can't do that if I'm up top."

"Either way, you won't be here anymore." Faceless held herself up as he stood and removed his hand from her shoulder. She kept her eyes down, staring at his feet.

How had it ended up like this? She was caught with no way out. She assumed the Military Police had stopped caring about her, that they realised she did more good than bad. Eight years she had been roaming the Underground as Faceless. She had created a name for herself. A name people feared. She had learnt over the years that crime rate had gone down, she needed to do less each night, she was making a difference, a real difference.

"Did you not hear me?" She said through gritted teeth. "I CAN'T LEAVE HERE!" She stood suddenly, lunging towards the man. He did not flinch, her face stopping inches from his as one of the other men grabbed the handcuffs, halting her action. The man's expression did not falter. "THEY NEED ME! THEY TRUST THAT I WILL PROTECT THEM! WHO WILL STOP THE WOMAN DOWN THE ROAD GETTING RAPED RIGHT NOW? IF YOU DID NOT STOP ME, I WOULD BE THE ONE SAVING HER!"

"What do you mean getting raped right now?"

"Down the street, take the first right into an alleyway, at the end, continue going straight until you get to a small building with a red roof. To the left of it, there's a small sidestreet. A woman is screaming for help." Levi looked to one of his comrades, he nodded his head to the side, and two men flew off in the direction she said. "You saved this one. What about all the others when I'm gone?" Her eyes grew into slits, glaring at him, even her voice had grown into a low growl.

Levi stayed calm. Even when he was in the Underground Faceless would be as well known as himself. They had never crossed paths, somehow. Part of him subconsciously wondered if he purposely avoided her. She was known for killing those she caught, and if the two collided, one would end up taking out the other, but he never wanted to end her. 

Faceless changed the Underground; she looked out for those the Military Police did not care about, she made it safe for people to travel around at late hours without having to fear for their lives. She even once saved Isabella from a drunken man who thought he could lay his hands on her. If Faceless had not killed him, he sure would have.

"The Underground doesn't need you," he stated, "they need Faceless."

"I AM FACELESS!"

"Are you?"

"Why don't you uncuff me to find out, I'll happily beat the shit out of you again." His jaw clenched.

"No one knows the face behind the mask; we spent hours looking for you because we ran into so many pretending to be _you_." Her eyes widened.

_Pretending to be me?_

"The fact is, even if you leave, the Underground will always fear Faceless."

She watched his eyes, looking for any lie in his tale, but he stayed unmoving. Her eyebrows pulled together. "Please, just let me go," she pleaded.

"You know I'm not going to do that."

Faceless' eyes looked around one last time, as a final attempt at hope for an escape. But every scenario she saw, she would never succeed in escaping. She fell to her knees with a huff. Her head hung low as tears stung her eyes.

She was caught.

"I'll only join the Survey Corps under one condition," she stated after a few seconds of silence, her voice firm.

"I told you, you're not one the calling the shots here-"

"I AM IF YOU WANT ME TO JOIN!" Her eyes were as hard as his when she looked up. "If I join you in the Survey Corps, I remain Faceless. I can keep my mask on at all times. No one finds out my true identity."

"Listen brat; once you join the Survey Corps, the Military Gaurd won't be able to do anything, you'll be under our jurisdiction."

"I don't care about the Military Gaurd."

All the other cadets gave each other confused glances. Levi's eyes harden.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then send me to the Military Gaurd right now. If my identity is revealed, I'll be safer behind bars." Levi's head titled slightly to the side. He did not understand; no one did. 

_Who was she?_

"Fine," he said after a moment of silence. "It does not bother me."

\--

Faceless slumped back on the seat and watched the buildings go by as she and the man she fought rode in a carriage. She had not looked his way once. Her fingers dug into her palms. She could not wrap her head around what was happening - _why_ was it happening. The man said nothing. The silence was not uncomfortable but not pleasant either, like two lions thrown into a cage. They watched, observed, waiting for the other to make the first move.

A sudden ear-piercing scream made her sit up straight. Her eyebrows pulled together, and she shut her eyes in an instant - searching the streets for where the sound came.

The sound waves signalled to the right, she followed them, racing around multiple buildings. It did not take her long to find three older, drunken men grabbing a teenage boy, pinning him by his throat to the wall. Her eyes shot open; her head snapped to look at the man she fought.

"THERE'S A YOUNG BOY! HE NEEDS MY HELP! PLEASE!"

"Where?" The man asked.

"DOES IT MATTER? HE COULD GET KILLED, LET ME GO HELP HIM!"

"Where?" Her nose scrunched and teeth bared. She knew the man would not let her go, but the kid needed saving.

"Just around the corner that is coming up. Three men are holding a teenager." The man looked to his left and nodded to two of his comrades that were on horses beside the carriage. They used their ODM gear and shot off in the direction she had said. Her head whipped to the other side of the window as they flew away. But just as they did, the carriage turned the corner, revealing the crime that was about to occur. 

Faceless met the teenager's eyes; they were frozen open, his skin pale, mouth open and lips trembling. He was gasping for air, his hands clawing at the attacker's hands that were roughly tightened around his neck. The teenager kicked his legs out violently, a feeble attempt at trying to escape. The attacker holding him grinned as he revealed a knife from his sleeve.

"NO!" Faceless screamed, leaning forward, almost falling out of the cart as the man launched an attack on the helpless teenage boy. She could do nothing but watch, the knife inching closer to the boy's neck. Just as the blade was going to end the boy's life, a foot hit the attackers face, sending him flying to the floor. 

Faceless eyes widened. She could only see the back of the new attacker, but she could tell it was not the Scout Regiment who had intervened. The person was large in stature, towering over the drunken men. The two who were still stood launched at him, but he dodged their attacks with ease, taking them down. The teenager sat on the floor, catching his breath but used his legs to push him further away from the fighting. It lasted less than a minute, and the three drunken men were left dead. The new person turned and walked over to the teenager who was crying under a lamp, offering a hand to him. As the man entered the light, Faceless grew pale - he wore a mask just like hers.

"I told you, Faceless will always be here even if you're not." The man who sat opposite her spoke. She sighed and slumped back in her seat.

"How do you even know I'm the Faceless you're looking for then? I could just be another imposter."

"We caught many different people tonight, some we caught in seconds, some confessed straight away, some even threatened civilians. I knew you were the real one when you were able to lose half of the people chasing you in minutes."

"Did me fucking you up seal the deal?" Faceless smirked.

"Tch."

The conversation ended, and she found herself once again staring out at the Underground and thinking. How had she not known about people pretending to be her? How had she not bumped into any of them before? It not made sense why there were so many different rumours on how she looked, because so many people saw so many different versions.

She was in deep thought, not paying any attention to things that happened around her. She was escorted out of the carriage at one point, and the next, she found herself walking up a set of stairs. She gave a final glance behind her and looked at the place she called home for the last twenty years. It was not much, in fact, it was horrid, but it was all she knew. Would she able to survive up top? After being alone for so long?

Her mind came to a standstill when she felt a gush of wind hit her body. Her body shivered at the coolness of it. She stopped and looked up.

She was outside.

It was still night time. The ceiling in the Underground had nothing on the dark blue sky that coated the sky. She had heard so much about the outside, about the sky at how it looked at night. That the small white fluffy things that floated around were called clouds, and the large white circle than shone and lit up everything else was called the moon.

Levi watched Faceless from the top of the stairs. Her eyes lit up, and even with the mask on, he could tell she was in awe. He let her take it in for a moment, remembering his first time leaving the Underground. He followed her eye line, his eyes meeting the full moon. He wondered if she knew what it was, or if she was simply memorised by it. He nodded to his comrades before walking off; they nudged her, taking out of her daze so she could follow.

Unlike the carriage in the Underground, Faceless leaned forward, her head out of the window as she watched everything go bye. Everything was new; she could not help but feel like an excited puppy meeting new people. Suddenly her arms that were aching because they were handcuffed relaxed. Both of them falling to the side of her. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes glancing to her sore wrist before looking to the man she fought. He sat back, handcuffs in hands.

"Don't even think about running," he told her. Her eyes squinted, but not like before when she was glaring, but like she was smiling, and her cheeks raised so high that her eyes closed slightly.

Faceless said nothing as her arms reached out of the window, her fingers wrapping around the top of the carriage before slipping legs through and flipping herself to the top. Levi was quick to react but was unable to grab her in time, he used his ODM gear and flew out of the window, landing on a nearby building, but froze when he saw her standing on top of the carriage.

Faceless threw her hands out to the side, letting the wind hit her.

"WHOOOOO HOOOOO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Her eyes followed her sound waves, racing towards the sky, and unlike the Underground, they did not bounce back when they hit the top of the ceiling, but they kept going, eventually fading and disappearing into the sky.

Levi watched and made no move to stop her, seeing her eyes twinkles in the moonlight. She turned to him, and even though she had the mask on, he knew she was grinning ear to ear.


	5. The Survey Corps

Faceless stood in the middle of an office. A blonde man behind a large desk stared at her from his seat, and the man she had fought before stood to the left, leaning on the wall, arms crossed. The two men stared at her, though she did not realise as her eyes scanned the room. It was neat - clean.

The two men exchange a glance, the blonde one raising his bushy eyebrows as to ask, 'why have they still got a mask on?' But the shorter man's expression stayed stern, looking back to the Faceless.

"You may take off your mask. All charges against you from the Military Police have been dropped. There is no need to hide your identity anymore," the blonde man said, catching her attention.

"I only agreed to join the Corps if I could keep my mask on," she answered. The blonde man's mouth opened, but after a second closed again. He looked to Levi, who shrugged.

"Okay, well, I am Erwin Smith. Commander of the Scout Regiment. He," he gestured to the shorter man," is Levi Ackerman, and will be your Captian and squad leader."

_Levi Ackerman?_

Faceless glanced to the man. She did not recognise him, yet the name rang a bell, but she did not know why. She looked back to Erwin.

"I don't understand, why do you want me in the Corps? Why go through all this effort? "

"I assumed you heard of The Fall of Shiganshina."

"With the Colossal and Armoured Titan?"

Erwin nodded. "We loss many soldiers that day, and we need to rebuild if we want to one day take the district back."

"So you're recruiting from the Underground now?"

Erwin grabbed a large file from the drawer closest to him and spread it out across the desk. "You've been around for years; you're an experienced fighter. You're fast, smart and brave. You fight to protect others, putting them before yourself. You're strength and skill are some of the best in Walls-"

"You don't know that. I've only ever fought lowlife drunks. I don't think that is a good comparison."

"You did a pretty good job against Humanity's Strongest Soldier," Erwin nodded to Levi.

"Wait, him?" she choked out a laugh and pointed to the shorter man, Erwin nodded. To the surprise of both men, Faceless let out a full-belly laugh. "But I beat him!" She could not believe what she had just heard. There was no doubt the man was skilled and strong, but how did _she_ beat him in a fight?

"Exactly my point. You have amazing potential, and is why I asked him to go get you."

"Okay, but isn't there one thing I'm missing to become a scout?"

"What would that be."

"I don't know how to use the ODM Gear."

Levi pushed himself off the wall when he caught her words, unsure if he heard her correctly. "You've never used it before?" he asked, keeping his voice monotone.

"Nope," she answered with a shake of her head. "I've seen them be used if it counts for something."

Levi looked to Erwin. "You want her on the expedition next month, but she can't use the ODM gear?"

"She can learn."

"In a month?"

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

" _Tch_."

Erwin looked back to Faceless. "You'll be training mainly with the new trainees, though you'll get extra support from Captain Levi himself. Any questions?"

"One. What happens if I can't use the ODM gear? Will you send me back to the Underground?"

"You'll be able to lea-"

"What if I can't?"

"What about you focus on learning, so we don't have to get to that dilemma. Understood?" Faceless eyed the man sceptically but nodded nonetheless. "Good. You'll be given your uniform tomorrow at breakfast. A trainee outside will take you to the barracks; you'll be sharing wi-"

"I need to have my own room." She interrupted. Erwin raised an eyebrow. "Like I told Levi-"

" _Captain_ ," the shorter man snarled.

"- no one can know who I am. That's my one condition to joining the Survey Corps; otherwise, I'd rather the Military Gaurd have me."

"What happens if people find out who you are?" Erwin could not help but be curious.

"What about you focus on doing as I asked, so we don't have to get to that dilemma." Levi did not care who she was; she needed to learn some respect. He stepped forward, ready to shut down her confidence, but Erwin held his hand up, stopping him.

"We at least need a name for the documents and reports."

"Faceless, just like everyone else calls me."

"That won't work. We need a name that people will believe, everyone will know Faceless is a lie." She raised an eyebrow. Her shoulder's -she did not realise that were tense- relaxed.

"A real fake name so no one will become suspicious..."

"Exactly."

One of her arms crossed her chest, while the older lifted to her face, her thumb and index finger pinched her chin as she thought deeply. "A name..." she muttered to herself. "What would I like to be called? I've only had Faceless for years...something cool, or maybe pretty. What was that ladies name from the bakery called? Estelle, was it?"

Erwin and Levi exchange glances, both confuddled at the sudden change in demeanour from her. Only five seconds ago she was confident and fierce, but now her wall fell, she was relaxed and eccentric.

"No, that does not seem right to steal her name," Faceless continued, unaware of the looks the men were giving her. "Maybe something to match my personality, or how I look...my eyes are blue, something blue could be good..." Levi's eyes grew into slits as he started to get irritated with her babbling. " _Urgh_ , but what is blue that could work as a name? Maybe I should just try som-"

"Skye," Levi finally interrupted fed up.

"Skye? Oh, that's perfect!" Faceless grinned. "Cause the Sky is blue. Your so smart!" She looked back to Erwin, pointing at the piece of paper under his hand. "Skye, write that down." Erwin's eyebrows pulled together but wrote it down anyway.

"Okay, now a last name, a family name," Erwin said, Levi was close to rolling his eyes, knowing this one would take as long as the last to figure out.

"A family name?" She asked. Erwin nodded. "But I don't have one, can't I just be Skye?"

"We need a last name for documentations. It can be a made-up one just like the first."

She looked down to the floor, her lips pursed.

_A family name..._

Once again, her demeanour changed. The bubbly free spirit that showed itself only a moment ago disappeared. Her shoulder's and head slumped forward, calm but intense. Suddenly she looked up, her eyes cold.

"Stieler. Skye Stieler." There was a woman who at the beginning of Faceless' vigilante days that helped her a great deal. She was the first person who started keeping her door open, so Faceless could have easy access to food and other essentials to survive. One day though, the woman was caught by a drunk man, but Faceless was quick to save her. However, it was in her early days, and she did not kill the man for his actions.

Only a few days later did the same drunk man return to shop late at night to kill and rape the woman Faceless was so fond of. Since then, Faceless never allowed her victims to live. The woman's name was Jule Stieler, and if there was one way to pay respects to her death, was not to let her be forgotten.

Erwin nodded and stood. "Skye Stieler, I officially welcome you to the Survey Corps." He placed his left fist over his heart and his other behind him. Skye mimicked his action but said nothing. "You may tell the trainee outside to take you to Miche Zacharius. Give this to him," he handed her a rolled up piece of parchment, "he will know what to do with you. Training starts tomorrow. Good luck. Cadet."

Faceless nodded and dropped her arms before walking out of the office, leaving the two men.

"If you keep letting her talk to you like that she'll walk all over you," Levi stated. Erwin eyes flickered to him but said nothing as he started putting away the files from before. "Did you know she couldn't use the ODM gear?" Levi asked after a few moments of silence.

"I had a feeling." Levi's cold gazed fixed on the Commander as he did not meet his eye. "What do you think of her?" Erwin changed the subject.

Levi eyes finally averted, knowing Erwin would not give him an answer if he did not want too. "She's a brat, but she's strong, fast, highly skilled in hand to hand combat."

"Just like I said she would be."

"But it's useless if she can't use the ODM Gear."

"She'll learn, I'm certain you'll make sure of it." Erwin grabbed his jacket as he started to make his way to the door, but paused as his hand landed on the handle. "Keep me updated. Ideally, I would like to find out what she is hiding sooner rather than later."

-

Faceless stood awkwardly outside one of the smaller buildings as a tall, well-built man read through the parchment she handed him. He had blonde bangs that were split down the middle with a dark moustache and beard. He looked up from the parchment and eyed her suspiciously, before putting it away and circling her. Her body became rigid as he started to _sniff_ her.

_What the hell is he doing..._

He stood back in front of her, his nose twitching.

"Sorry if I don't smell as great as anyone else up here, but I assure you, I'm considered very clean in the Underground," she said. He did not flinch at her comment, eyeing her up and down.

"Follow me."

The walk was silent, but Faceless did not mind. She spent most of the time staring up and at the dark blue sky. The moon shone brightly, and she was captivated by it. She had heard so much about it, and yet nothing ever said truly captured the beauty of it.

Everyone else in the base was fast asleep. Faceless wondered what time it was, and what time she would have to wake up. Not that it made too much of a difference anyway as she usually only ever got around four hours of sleep, but she could not help but be curious.

"This will be your living quarters," The man - Miche - said as he opened the door to one of the buildings that mimicked all the others they had walked past to get there. "Breakfast is at 7 am; if you miss it, you don't eat until lunch." Faceless nodded. "Any questions?" She shook her head. He started to walk away.

"Thank you," she called out. Miche paused for a moment and turned to face her, giving a simple, respectful nod before walking off. She watched until he disappeared into the distance before turning to the half-open door. She did not understand why she suddenly got nervous. The idea that her next step would mean accepting a new life she was forced into was strange. As much as she wanted to stay down below to help those in need, there was no denying that part of her yearned for an escape from it all. She was alone for years, and if not for Levi and Erwin, she would probably have been alone for the rest of her life.

Faceless hands clenched and unclenched as she pushed the door open to reveal a cosy room. On the left-hand side sat a single bed, beside it a small bedside cabinet. On the wall sat a clock, it read 2 am. Another door was on the right side of the room. She walked over and opened it to reveal a bathroom with a shower in the corner. She grinned.

She walked inside and stood in front of the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. She reached up and pulled off her mask, her hair falling to her side. She grimaced as she saw her face covered in blood and bruises. The deepest cut was just under her left eye, she grabbed a piece of toilet roll and dabbed it gently, wincing at the touch.

There was no doubt Levi had beat her up as much as she did him, but she would never admit that. For now, she was happy for him to believe she was the better fighter when, in fact, they were even. The only reason she won was because her life was on the line; she had the extra push he did not.

She was unsure of what to think of him. Humanity's strongest soldier? She still struggled to believe she beat him at all. She did not believe she was that skilled, but then again, killing Titans was probably different from fighting people. She heard a lot about Titans; they were almost a legend to those Underground because no one had ever seen one themselves, just heard stories about them from those who had the chance to go up above.

Erwin, on the other hand, had gained a large amount of respect from Faceless. He had gone out of his way to give her a room which was obviously for those higher up. She doubted many had a room with a toilet and shower inside. He was doing the best to provide for her needs, and she would do her best in return. She would prove her worth and show that he did not waste his time or effort on her.

As Faceless laid in bed, her muscles started to ache, proving even more the beating she took from the fight with Levi. But she found herself smiling. Erwin said she would be training with the new trainees. She would be other people. She could talk to them. She was filled with both nerves and excitement. It had been so long, but even before she became Faceless, she never had 'friends'. She only had her younger brother to talk to, but she missed it. Missed talking about anything and everything that filled her mind.

For the first time in years, Faceless was excited for the next day.


	6. First Day Of Training

Faceless got far less sleep than she would have liked. Rather than her nightmares getting the hold of her, it seemed the reason she was unable to sleep was that she could not control her excitement or nerves. Something about starting new made her feel like she was on a sugar high.

At 6 am, she finally gave up on trying to sleep, accepting that two hours would be enough to get her through the day. Just before she had fallen asleep earlier that morning, Miche returned with a handful of clothes and necessities, so before she left her room to start her day, she was clean as could be.

The first thing she noticed when her eyes opened was the light that streaked into her room from the high window. She stared at it, and nervously gulped as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Without lights, the Underground would be swallowed in darkness, so seeing light itself was not shocking, but this light was _different_. It was warm, her legs felt it from where she sat inches away from it. It was soft, unlike the harsh yellow glare that came from the lamps in the Underground, the ones that she would see every single night as she roamed buildings and streets.

Faceless did not dare to move as her eyes looked up to the window, her head tilted to the side as in the top right corner of the window the delicate rays of light disappeared and were replaced with a glowing ball. Her hand lifted, her palm blocking the brightness from hurting her now squinting eyes, though a few beams seeped through her separated fingers.

But after a few moments, she stared at her hand that started to become warm. She turned her it, so her palms faced her, confused as to why it felt so heated compared to the rest of her body. Her head moved as she examined her hand to find the cause, but paused as she saw the yellow light bounce off the back of her hand, which was also now hot. Slowly she dropped her hand to her side and closed her eyes. She lifted her chin and used her hands to push herself closer to the window.

Faceless smiled softly as the heat kissed her skin. Her head fell back as she enjoyed the warmth.

_So this is the sun..._

Faceless left her room, a skip in her step. The base seemed far less daunting with other people walking around. They gave her odd looks as she went by - not that she would expect any different considering the mask that covered her head - but showed them a broad smile in return, unfazed by them. She did not know where it was she was going, nor did she care. She found herself in bliss. Her ears picked up every small sound that occurred, from the chirping of the birds to the trot of the horses. She took a deep breathe every chance she got, the air; it was _clean_.

"Faceless," Her head whipped to the side, pulling her out of her trance. Levi strode towards her.

"I thought my name was Skye now?"

"I don't see the need to call you it if I don't have too," he answered. Faceless raised an eyebrow but held back a teasing comment. "Where were you this morning?"

"Wandering the base?" her voice came out unsure as the question seemed rather stupid. Where else would she be? "I couldn't sleep so thought I would look around. Am I not allowed?" Levi said nothing, but she could see the single bead of sweat that sat at the side of his forehead. She smirked at the realisation. "You thought I ran away? Didn't you? Panicked that the Underground Vigilante would run a muck of the city," she chuckled. "I bet if I did the Military Gaurd would never trust Erwin-"

" _Commander_ -"

"-again." Levi's eyes narrowed to slits. "What exactly did it cost to get me here?" she leaned forward, a sudden curiosity spiking in her.

"Get into your uniform," he shoved a pile of clothes into her stomach, earning an _'oof''_ from her, "training starts in ten minutes."

"But I haven't had breakfast yet!"

"Tough shit," he started walking away, "should have got there sooner rather than wandering the base like a fucking tourist."

\--

Faceless' stomach grumbled as she made her way to the training yard once she was dressed in proper uniform. It was fitting, no doubt people would know she was a girl now, it was even a little too fitting. For the last twelve years, she was in baggy clothes to hide her identity, but now she found herself pulling at stray straps that wrapped around random parts of her body that she could not understand why they were there. The harness for the gear its self was not the most comfortable, but that was the least of her worries. The high boots, long sleeve jacket and mask combined to make her unbelievably hot as the heat started to rise.

Many strange looks came her way as she approached a group of kids, though the man who stood at the front barely acknowledged her at all. She assumed any of the higher-ups knew about her and her _situation_.

Faceless' walked slowed as she looked at the contraption that stood behind the man who was in charge. It had three long brown poles stuck in the ground, two in front and one at the back like a triangle, all three bars leaned into the centre, meeting together at the top were a metal rig that looked like an upside-down, double-armed weighing scale held it together. At the end of either arm were two ropes that dangled down, inches from touching the floor, large metal clips at the end of them.

"First, we'll evaluate what you have!" The man in charge yelled. "Anyone unable to do this can't even serve as a decoy! They will be sent to the frontier. These involve only the rudimentary basics, but even at this stage, you can see their potential with the Maneuver Gear." Faceless eyes hardened.

_If I fail this, I go home..._

Everyone split into small groups down the different contraptions. Faceless stayed to the far left. She watched as a group of kids converged with each other, laughing, smiling. Faceless wanted to be a part of it but found herself lost for words every time she tried to join. She knew they had judged her already for the mask, but now they were going to judge her again on her skill without even having talked to her first.

She looked to the ground as she was called up to go next.

_"Who is she?"_

_"Is she even our age?"_

_"I've never seen her before today."_

_"What's with the mask? She must be boiling with it on."_

"Ready?" Faceless took a deep breathed as she looked at the clips in her harass before nodding. The clacking of the metal echoed in her ear as one of the helpers starting to turn the crank, tightening the wires at her side. As she slowly pushed herself to her tiptoes, she looked up to see Levi far to the left of the training yard. Their eyes locked like magnets, his as cold as ever, but it was only a brief moment, as her eyes shot wide as she suddenly started falling backwards. She could do nothing to stop her momentum, hitting her head hard on the floor.

"Fuck..."Faceless groaned, her hand reaching the back of her head. The kids that watched burst into laughter. Her cheeks burned red, and she knew it was not just because of the heat. She had never felt embarrassment before; she felt sick and wanted nothing more than the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

The wires loosen as she was slowly lowered to the floor. She laid there for a moment, trying her best to control her emotions. She was not even close to balancing correctly; she dropped immediately; she had no control over it. What was she going to do?

Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position; she watched as Levi started to walk the other direction. She stood and fumbled with the clips, throwing them to the side once she unattached herself.

"Levi!" She called, pushing past the other cadets and towards his direction. He did not stop moving, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. "Levi!" She caught up with him, grabbing his arm to stop him in place, he snatched it away instantly but stayed still. His eyes bored into hers. "Don't worry, I'll try again, it's just the first time, it's not a normal thing to try. I didn't just have one of those contraptions in the Underground to practise on, you know," she chuckled lightly, punching his arm playfully.

Levi did not budge. He stared at her, his expression unmoving. After a few moments, she let out a deep sigh, her arms dropping by her side and head falling back. "Okay, I messed up. I know. But I'll try again, and I'll get it next time." Again Levi did not move. His deadpan stare started to irritate her. "Are you not meant to help me? Like, give me advice or some shit?"

"There's no advice to give. Either you can do it or you can't," he stated.

"So that's it, you're just going to give up on me?"

Levi gave her a final look before turning and walking away. "I'm going to take a shit."

"Don't worry; I'm going to do it!" She called out as he turned the corner, leaving her sight. "FUCK!" She said to herself after a moment, looking around irritated, breathing heavily, thinking how the hell she was going to pass the test tomorrow.

If she failed, she was going back to the Underground.

\--

Faceless' forehead sat on the edge of the table as her hand held an icepack to the back of her head. She sat alone at a table during lunch, not that she minded, she was sure no one wanted to hear her constant groans of pain. After her talk with Levi, she attempted the ODM Gear task again, each time, she fell, banging her head on the floor.

"What the hell am I gonna do..." she muttered to herself. Only by the last attempt, she was able to stay up for a few seconds, but in the end, she flipped to the floor like every other time.

She left earlier than everyone else for lunch feeling embarrassed that a bunch of twelve years old were not only laughing at her but able to complete the task. She had never been bad at anything before. She did not know how to deal with it, let alone the pressure that she felt that Erwin had gone out of his way to get her. She did not even understand why she felt the pressure. She never asked for him to get her. He had done it on his own accord yet there she was worrying how she was going to disappoint him.

The cafeteria grew quiet; Faceless glanced up to see Levi walking in. The air grew heavy with anticipation as if everyone was excepting 'Humanities Greatest Soilider' to do something miraculous with every step he took. That if watching him would increase everyone's odds of survival when they left the safety of the walls.

_"I've heard he's killed hundreds of Titans."_

_"I thought he'd be taller."_

_"Why is he at the training base? Shouldn't he be out killing Titans?"_

_"It's because he's forming a squad of his own! He's looking for the best of the best. People who can keep up with him!"_

_"Who the hell can keep up with him?"_

Faceless' forehead once again dropped back to the table. They were right, who the hell could keep up with him.

"HELLO!" She jumped as someone yelled into her ear. She looked up to meet a pair of wide, light brown eyes behind a set of thin oval-shaped glasses. "You must be the new Cadet that Erwin was telling me about!" Faceless' head just about moved up and down as to agree to the women's statement as she analysed her. Her hair was wild, her messy bangs covered her forehead, though the rest of it was pulled back into a high ponytail. Her nose was hooked and smile twisted, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Is it true you're from the Underground?"

The women grew closer to Faceless with each passing comment, making her lean back slightly uncomfortable. The woman was energetic and had no idea what the term personal space was. "What is it like down there?" Even if Faceless wanted to answer the woman's questions, she had no chance as words spilt out of her mouth like water from a running tap. "Is it true you wear the mask because you're allergic to the sun?"

Faceless' eyebrows pulled together. "Allergic to the sun?" she had not meant to voice the thought.

"Yes, that is what Erwin said when I asked."

"Oh-" Faceless' face lit up. Erwin must have made up the lie so she could walk the base with the mask without any questions. "Yes, I am severely allergic. Especially my face, it burns - boils...melts?" Faceless' face scrunched together, unsure what actually happens to someone when they were allergic to something.

"Can I see?" The woman said, a sudden glint in her eyes.

"W-What? No! It hurts...a lot!"

"But pain is worth for science...no?" The woman's hand started to rise towards Faceless' mask, a drool forming at the edge of her mouth. "Maybe I could find a way to fix i-"

"Nope!" Faceless pushed herself away from the woman, her backside sliding across the bench and stopping at the very edge of it. "I am very happy with my mask staying on my head."

The woman's arm dropped by her side, though the longing stare never left. Faceless' fingers drummed on the edge of the table nervously. She cleared her throat. "My name is Skye, Skye Stieler."

"Hange Zoe!" The woman said proudly, she leaned forward, closing the gap between them again, her hand sticking out for a shake. "Pleased to meet you." Faceless gave an awkward grin; her eyes glanced to the side to see if there was anymore bench left for her to shuffle down - there was not. She looked back to Hange, who still looked as though she was staring at a piece of meat hungrily. Faceless chuckled stiffly.

"So, I'm guessing you're not a Cadet?"

"Nope, a full-fledged soldier of the Survey Corps!" She grinned proudly. Faceless' eyes looked down to the Survey Corps badge stitched onto her uniform.

"So you're pretty good with the ODM gear then?"

"I'd like to think so."

"Any chance you could maybe help me out?"

\--

**_BANG_ **

"You're going to give yourself a concussion at this rate," Hange said as Faceless flipped over for the tenth time that day on the ODM balance gear. She tried not to moan her pain as she was lowered to the floor.

"I'll happily get a concussion if I could just fucking balance on this thing," she muttered, standing up. She leaned forward, hands landing on her knee's as she caught her breath. Continuously failing was an exhausting task.

"I don't get it, why are you even here? At the training base, I mean. Don't the Survey Corps have their own place?" Faceless asked, striking up a conversation to allow herself to a chance recompose herself.

"We're lacking pretty hard on soldiers right now. Erwin hoped if the Survey Corps showed ourselves around the recruits, they'd be more likely to choose our regiment when it came to it." Hange answered, already turning the crank to lift her again.

"Do you think that'll work?"

"Hopefully." The wires tightened. "Ready?" Faceless nodded. She was lifted off the ground. "HOLD IT! HOLD IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!" Hange screamed as Faceless body wobbled. "HOOOLLLL-"

**_BANG_ **

Hange looked to her timer. "Well, you finally got past the three-second mark."

"Really?" Faceless eyes lit up, staring at Hange upside down.

"Yep, 3.8 seconds."

"YES!" Faceless cheered loudly, arm fist-pumping into the air.

"That's not enough to pass."

"I know, but it's progress!"

Hange helped Faceless well into the night, unknowing that Levi stood watch from afar. Eventually, Hange called it a night, her stomach rumbling as the smell of dinner from the cafeteria hit her nose. In the end, Faceless was able to stay up for four seconds, but nothing more, and it was still not enough to pass.

The two women waved goodbye, Faceless not having an appetite which she blamed on all the bangs to the head she got. She wandered the base, eventually finding a place to rest - a grassy hill on the edge of the base. She laid back, tempted to take her mask off, she had been bolling in it the whole day, oftentimes finding it hard to concentrate.

Clouds covered most of the sky that night, the moon rays seeping through small gaps from time to time. She found the cool wind relaxing, and a few times, she was tempted to take the mask off to feel it on her face, but she thought against it knowing the dangers. Finally, she stood and started to make her way back to her room, wanting nothing more but to sleep away the pain she was feeling. She was going to fail. She was going back to the Underground. It was a fickle hope to think she would really become a full-fledged soldier. But Erwin was so convinced she could do it, that it even persuaded herself she could. She kicked a rock from beneath her foot.

**_SMASH_ **

Faceless stopped walking, frozen in place. She closed her eyes, scolding herself before glancing up. A door was open to her left. "Shit..." she muttered, walking over to it. She glanced around to check she was alone before peering inside and turning on the light. Her mouth dropped. The room was filled with ODM Gear, the _real_ gear.

Something popped into her mind. It was crazy, but if it worked, she could prove herself to Levi and Erwin. If she could use the real gear, then she would not have to try to pass the test. She had been feeling the test was unfair; it was unnatural. With the real gear, she would be flying forward; her body would naturally go into the correct position to balance herself. Simply hoovering in a single place did not create the right situation.

Without another thought, Faceless grabbed the gear off the wall and started putting it on herself. She mumbled to herself as she tried to understand the many straps and clips that were part of the equipment, none of them making any sense to her.

"What are you doing?" She did not have to look to know whose monotone voice it belonged too.

Her eyes squeezed shut, nose scrunched and lips pressed together annoyed she had got caught. She turned around, a smile now plastered on her face. "Nothing...chilling." He was unamused; her foot tapped nervously on the floor as silenced filled the air. Eventually, his intense stare made her break. "I want to prove that I can use the gear, the _real_ gear. Not some stupid ass contrapti-"

"Not happening."

"But - please, I can show you-"

"You'll just get hurt. Maybe even die. Take it off."

Her hand became a fist as she grew frustrated. "No."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't a suggestion. It was an order. You're not doing it, and that's final." He turned to leave.

"This isn't fair! You forced me up here, and I'm trying my best to figure this out, and you're not even helping! Do you not want me on your team? Am I that bad? Were my speed and strength not good enough for your squad?"

"Bringing you up here was never my idea."

"So that's what it is? Just because I was not handpicked by ' _Humanities Strongest_ ' himself you'll just let me fail?"

_"Tch."_

Faceless did not know why she was so worked up by it all. Just yesterday she did not want to leave the Underground at all. But being up top, knowing her people down below were safe without her anyway made her realise she wanted to live a life, a _meaningful_ life. She could have it in the Corps. Even if she could never tell anyone the truth about herself, she could still have friends, maybe even those she could consider family. She did not realise for the last few years she had pushed her feelings away, hiding that she hated being alone. She made herself believe she had to be to protect others, but now she didn't have to be anymore. She did not want to go back to how it was before. She could not go back to it and be happy with her life.

"You need to relax," he said, "you're overthinking. You're not chasing someone down; you're just trying to stay upright. You've just got to do it."

Faceless' face dropped. "That's your advice? To just do it? Right, my bad, this whole time I enjoyed hitting my head on the floor."

Levi's eyes grew into slits. "You wanted my advice, that's what it is. Take it or leave it." He started to walk away, but she stepped forward, grabbing his arm.

"Okay, I'm sorry, It's just..." she let go of him. "It's hard. I've never been, worried before; this is my life and - and, I don't want to go back down _there_. Not after seeing what my life could be. Is there nothing else you could tell me which could help?"

His arm propelled forward, colliding with her stomach. She hurled over in pain an _oof_ escaping her lips.

"What the hell was that for?" She said, her voice strained.

"You've got muscles. Use them." He turned and walked off. "And take that gear off, if I see you using it, I'll personally make sure you end up back in the Underground."

\--

It was here.

The exam.

Faceless watched as other cadets went before her. She did not sleep that night - anxiety filling her every fibre. Again she did not eat breakfast despite getting to the cafeteria before everyone else. Hange joined her side and tried to force food down her throat, but she rejected it, feeling as though if she did eat, she would throw it all up.

Her stomach grumbled as her name was called.

_Maybe she would have eaten some food..._

It seemed every eye was on her as she approached the machine. She swallowed nervously, her hands clammy as she wiped them on her jacket, trying to rid of the constant sweat coming from her pores.

 _Relax..._ she told her self constantly, hearing Levi's advice form the night before. But how could she when a few seconds would decide her fate? It was stupid, really. Such a simple, silly test was deciding it all—so much pressure on one moment.

She did not realise she had shut her eyes when they started to clip her in and only realised once she opened them to see Levi once again standing in the distance, watching.

_Relax..._

She focused on her breathing.

_Don't overthink it..._

Her shoulders eased.

She tried to block out the whirring sound of the wires moving against the metal as they started to tighten.

_Use your muscles..._

She recalled Levi's words from the night before, but she could not help but wonder why he had punched her. Revenge for when she won the fight? No. He did not seem like the type. She shook her head aggressively, out of times to think about it, that was not the time.

Her feet started to lift from the floor, and suddenly she was filled with panic again. She did not know what to do, her eyes shut again.

_Relax. How?!_

_Don't overthink? Then what am I meant to think?!_

_Use your muscles._

Her eyes shot open as if an electric bolt shot through her body.

Her muscles.

When she was lifted to the full height, she instantly felt that her body started to lean back, but she tensed her core and threw her hands out to the side. Her body shook. A few times, her heart dropped as she started to feel herself falling backwards, but she focused on using every once of her muscles, holding her upright. Everyone was a blur; she focused on nothing but herself and staying upright. She would not fail.

**_preet preet_ **

The whistle blew, signalling she had stayed up long enough to pass the exam. Her face lit up, and she threw her arms straight into the air.

"YES! I DID I-" She fell backwards, hitting her head once again. But she did not care. She did enough to pass, and she would practise her ass off to ensure she got better. As she was lowered to the floor, she looked to where Levi was standing. She stuck her arms out, her thumbs sticking in the air with a massive grin on her face. He gave a simple nod before walking away. He would not get rid of her yet.


	7. ODM Gear

Faceless found herself once again in awe, staring up at the humungous trees that she was surrounded by. She had heard so many things about them, but she did not believe they were as big as everyone said, but now she saw them for herself, they were far bigger than she imagined. The sun rays seeped through the branches, though most reflected off the green leaves that envelope every tree. Thousands of blades of grass covered the floor, only being broken up by the odd colourful flower.

The other cadets gave each other odd glances as Faceless laid on the floor, her cheek - mask -pressed on the floor, her eyes watched as her hand ran through the grass like she would do to her hair each morning. She smiled softly as it tickled her palm. Her finger stopped when it reached the bottom of a stem of a flower. She pushed her face from the floor, her palms flat out across the ground and chest slightly risen as her face grew closer to the yellow petals. Her eyes crossed as she focused in on it. She bit her lip as her hand slowly rose and trapped a single petal between her thumb and index finger. She was making sure to be careful, not wanting to rip it apart. She was surprised by how soft it felt an-

"What the fuck are you doing?" Faceless jumped at the sudden voice, pulling the petal off. She sat up, her eyebrows pulled down and a frown on her face as she looked down at the single petal in her between her fingers. She looked up. Levi stood above her.

"You made me break the flower," she mumbled sadly, her hand rasing to show him the yellow petal.

"Are you not meant to be training?"

"Yes - well - no, that guy with the moustache was explaining to us what to do," her hand pointed behind her, "about the ODM gear, but then I got distracted-" she turned to follow the gaze of her finger but was met with an empty forest. "Where did everyone go?"

"You were too busy caressing a flower to realise everyone has already started."

"Oops?" her shoulders raised to a shrug.

" _Tch_."

Faceless stood and wiped away the dust from her trousers. "Don't worry; I got this. You should prepare yourself; you're about to witness greatness." Levi was unamused by her antics. He said nothing as she lifted her triggers. "I - uh - start with this right?"

His eyes narrowed. Faceless coughed quickly. "Right, so I'm just going t- _AHHHHHH!_ " Faceless' grapple left her side and hooked onto a nearby tree before dragging her towards it at high speed. She did not know what to do, fearing for her life as the tree got closer.

**_SMASH_ **

She groaned loudly as her body flopped down onto a tree branch below. Her eyes stayed shut, but she heard the whirring of the gear beside her. She did not have to open her eyes to know Levi was giving her a disapproving look.

"I may -" she groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position, "have messed up." Levi scoffed, he was crouched vertical on the tree trunk, his gear holding him up. "I did not think the trigger was so sensitive," she admitted. A slight blush crept to her cheeks - not that he would see anyway. He jumped off the tree and landed in front of her.

"You are expected to go on your first expedition in a month. You need to focus; otherwise, you might as well submit yourself to the Titans now."

"Surely they should take me on a date first before I submit myself to them. What if I don't like them? Wh-"

"Is fighting a Titan a joke to you? Don't think they are going to be as tough as the drunk lowlifes you went against in the Underground?"

"Hey, blame Erwin-"

" _Commander_ -"

"-he's the one who told me I beat 'Humanities Strongest'. How hard could a few Titans be? You seem to take them down just fine, and as I could take you down, I can take them down. It's really simple if you think about it."

"Do you think you can beat me if I was 10 meters tall? If my hand was bigger than your whole body? If I could kill you with a single bite?"

"Biting already? We have not even held hands yet Levi."

His eyes narrowed; he got a vertical wrinkle between his eyebrows. His lips pursed slightly. Faceless swallowed nervously and recoiled at the sudden intensely that came with his piercing stare. She tried to control her breathing, holding his gaze, but after a few seconds, she broke it, feeling as though if she looked too long, something terrible would happen. She looked down at her hands. She took it too far; she did not know how else to answer him than humour. She needed to apologise, but when she looked up, he was already gone.

"Levi!" She called after him when she saw him in the distance, but he did not bother turning, he did not bother correcting her. Levi always held a cold stare, but the one she just saw was something far... _darker_. It made her uncomfortable, scared even.

Faceless knew how serious he was, knew how serious Titans were. But she did not know how to handle the situation. She had not spoke or socialised with anyone in twelve years. What did one do when told about the horrible acts Titans could do? She knew they could kill her in a single swing of their arms. She did take it seriously, but now, Levi thought the complete opposite.

Her head fell forward, her forehead landing on the tree trunk as she sighed deeply. She had messed up. She needed to fix it. She needed to show him she was serious, but how? She could not just change how she acted; it was not something she thought about; it was just who she was. She needed to show him by her actions. She had a month to become a master with the ODM gear, or good enough to be part of Levi's squad, which by any means was being a master. She needed to stop getting distracted; she needed to make it her sole purpose. But how could she when she could barely think straight with the heat? She did not realise the mask would become such an issue.

Faceless stood and made sure her feet were planted firmly on the tree branch. She looked out in front; the never-ending forest seemed more daunting than she initially thought. High up in the tree's where all the leaves and branches intertwined reminded her of the dark spaces that could be found in the Underground. The places were one would go and end up getting lost because they could not find their way back again.

On the floor, a discoloured path showed were people previously had walked. It was a common path for people to take, leading the way to anyone that would get lost. Trees surrounded the path left and right. It was the perfect place to train with the ODM gear. The rest of the cadets were somewhere in the midst of it all. She needed to keep up, catch up with them, then surpass them.

She looked down at the controller grips that sat in either hand. There were two triggers and a lever on each. Her eyebrows grew together.

_What did each do?_

Her index and middle finger hoovered over the two triggers. When she pressed them before at the same time, both the grapple shot forward and the gas-fired out sending her flying forward. She assumed, one trigger was for the grapple and the other for the gas.

_But which one activates what?_

She could feel herself start to get frustrated. She should have listened to the teacher earlier. She would already have been flying around if she did not get distracted so easily. Levi would not be angry at her. She would be one step closer to getting his approval to being in his squad. She scowled at herself. She needed to stay focused.

Faceless closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, calming herself. She needed to focus. Her finger lightly tapped on the triggers - ensuring not to press it hard enough to send her flying again. The best way to use the gear is to send the grapples out first then use the gas to fly forward.

_So in theory, the top trigger would be the grapple and the gas the second..._

Her eyes opened - the best way to find out what to try. She inhaled through her nostrils and exhaled through pursed lips as her eyes planted on a tree a few metres from her.

_That's my target._

Her feet felt nailed to the branch and fingers frozen. She could not move. Worried that if it went wrong, she could hurt herself badly. Then what? She would be back at the Underground.

"AHHHHHHH!" She screamed after a final push of motivation; her index finger pressed down firmly on the left trigger, her left grapple shot out and landed right on her mark. She grinned.

_It actually hit the mark...now time for gas._

Without another thought, she pressed down on her bottom triggers, jumping off the tree branch. She propelled forward, her eyes widened as she went at a far faster pace than expected. She did not know what to do with her feet. When did she stop the gas? Did she have to hold down the trigger for the grapple, or would it unlatch?

WHY DIDN'T SHE LISTEN TO THE TEACHER?

**_BANG_ **

"Aaah..." Faceless groaned as she sat up, rubbing her forehead where she smacked it on the tree. She looked up to the dent she made in the trunk with her grapple, before sighing softly. She looked down to the floor that was at least 15 metres away.

_Could have been worse..._

With another groaned, she forced herself to her feet. If she were not careful, she would send herself to the infirmary before she had a real chance to use the gear. Her hand reached to rub her eyes as she thought on what to do. If she did not try to be funny with Levi, he could have taught her what to do. She could have learnt from the best.

"FUCK!" She yelled, her fisted hand punching the tree.

She needed to learn, but how. Is was not natural. She was not a fucking bird; she was not meant to fly. Her feet should always have something under them.

"Having trouble?" Faceless arms flew up in front of her chest, naturally falling into a fighting stance. She was ready to strike a punch but stopped at the smiling face. Faceless stayed in her posture, still cautious. "Whoa, whoa, I come in peace," the smiley girl chuckled, hands in the air. Faceless slowly lowered her guard, her eyes scanning the woman. She was in uniform; the Scout badge stitched into her left pocket.

"Sorry," Faceless mumbled. "still getting used to not having to be on my guard all the time."

"That's okay," the woman beamed before sticking our her hand in front of her. "I'm Yosefina Taube, you're Skye Stieler, right?"

"Skye?" Faceless head turned to the side. "Oh yeah, yes, that's me. _Skye_ ," she tried to playoff, though Yosefina did not seem to realise her stumble. She stuck her hand out and shook Yosefina's hand. "You're part of the Scouts, right?"

Yosefina nodded, her long, blonde braided hair bouncing. "Yep and proud; followed in my father's footsteps!" She placed her balled fist onto the Scout logo proudly as if a half salute, her eyes staring to the sky, then suddenly, tears started to fall down her face. "I WILL MAKE YOU PROUD FATHER!" She yelled into the atmosphere. Faceless took a step back, unsure on what to do. "Anyway," Yosefina looked back to her, the tears already disappeared and smile back. Faceless' mouth fell open, confused. "I thought I would come to help you."

"Um - help..." she was not paying attention to her words as she tried to process what had just happened, but then she shook her head, pulling herself back to normal. "Help. Yes. With the ODM gear, right?"

"Yep. I saw you struggling and thought I'd give you a hand." Faceless lit up and launched forward, her arms wrapping around Yosefina.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

The next few hours consisted of Faceless being covered in bruises. Yosefina told her all the basics on how to use the equipment, what everything did and the best way to fly around, but even with all the correct information, Faceless _sucked_ at using the ODM gear. She had landed on her feet a maximum of five times out of hours of practice. Most of the time she crash-landed, other times her wires got caught, and she was propelled backwards, other times she forgot to re-send her grapples forward and was stuck mid-air after the wire yanked her back.

The worse of all was when she had the best attempt, she soared through the air, grinning from ear to ear, she looked back to yell for Yosefina, to tell her how well she was doing but could not as her stomach collided with a thick tree branch, stopping her momentum straight away. Even Yosefina cringed at that one, and called it a day, thinking if they carried on Faceless would find herself in the infirmary.

"Same again tomorrow?" Faceless asked as the two walked to the dining hall.

"Are you sure? Don't you want to rest a little? You're going to be aching-"

"I'll be fine. I need to get good, good enough to be part of Levi's squad, and I've only got a month to do it. I can't take any breaks!"

Suddenly, Yosefina's dark blue eyes filled with water again. "YOU'RE SO AMAZING!" She cried, arms swinging around Faceless, bringing her into a tight hug. "I'LL TRY HELP YOU AS BEST AS I CAN!" But as Yosefina pulled away, her tears had once again vanished, her smile as bright as ever returning. "I'll be the sun to your flowers. The darkness to your stars-"

"Huh?"

"The food to your belly! The-"

"Okay. I get it." Faceless forced a smile, Yosefina's personality was something she would have to get used to, but even if she was a little odd, she was sweet, funny and a strong fighter. They would get on well.


	8. Night Training

Hange, Yosefina and Faceless caused quite a ruckus on the first night they sat together in the mess hall. Yosefina and Hange had been friends since they were cadets, but Faceless fit into their friendship like she had been there for years. They spend more time talking and laughing than they did eating - well Hange and Faceless did, Yosefina had scoffed her food and cleaned her plate the moment it touched the table.

Many raised their eyebrows when Yosefina and Faceless suddenly got into an arm wrestle - which Faceless proceeded to win with ease. Hange cheered loudly on the side, catching everyone's attention and suddenly Faceless found herself arm-wrestling many different people. Most were cadets, teenage boys, mainly who thought they could impress the girls by taking her on, only to find themselves embarrassed by the end.

"CAPTAIN LEVI!" Yosefina yelled as the small man walked into the mess hall. Faceless cringed beside her, knowing the next words that were about to leave her mouth. "SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT SKYE IN AN ARM WRESTLE! SHE'S CURRENTLY UNDEFEATED!" Faceless scowled at Yosefina, though her eyes raised to meet Levi's cold stare. She swallowed nervously - he was still mad at her.

"Please, we all know Levi would beat me in an instant," Faceless chuckled dryly, hoping to diffuse the tension that grew. He said nothing, giving a final dull stare before walking off. Her head fell forward with a sigh. She did not know why, but she hated that he disliked her, she was going to have to be on his squad. They were going to have to trust each other during battle; she _needed_ his respect. She turned her attention back to Yosefina, who already started a new conversation with Hange, unnoticing the tension between Faceless and Levi.

"Hange, your turn against me!" Yosefina grinned. Faceless gave another glance to Levi as he left the hall, before turning back to her friends and enjoyed the rest of dinner. It did not take long for her to get whipped up in the chaos that came with being friends with Hange and Yosefina. And suddenly, by the end, Faceless knew a lot more people in the Scouts than she did that morning. She was comfortable - happy; she had friends.

-

 _"The gamble won't pay off."_ Yuki stopped in her tracks just outside the mess hall as she heard a voice- though it sounded like a whisper in the wind.

"You okay?" Yosefina asked. Faceless said nothing. Hange and Yosefina gave each other confused looks.

 _"She's not taking it seriously. Even if she did become good enough for the expedition next month, she'd die as soon as we get into Titan territory."_ Faceless recognised it as Levi's voice.

"I just remembered, I left something in the mess hall," Faceless told the girls with a forced grin. "I'll see you in the morning!"

"What did you leave?"

"Uh - my notebook." Faceless started jogging back the way she came.

"A notebook?" Yosefina mumbled, confused; she looked to Hange. "She had a notebook?" Hange shrugged, but neither could say anything else as Faceless had already left their sights.

Faceless came to a stop, looking behind to ensure the girls could not see her before leaning her back on a wall and closing her eyes.

 _"Give her time. I don't see why you have such an issue with it."_ Commander Erwin said.

**_BANG_ **

Faceless jumped, she was not sure what caused it, but her ears were not pleased. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. Her mind searched for the sound waves. She knew she was being noisy, but she knew they were talking about her.

_"I don't understand why you're so insistent on having her."_

_"And I don't understand why you're not. You've admitted it yourself her skill is far beyond anyone else in the Corps-"_

_"In hand to hand combat, not killing Titans."_

Quickly, Faceless followed the sound waves that lingered in the air. The conversation between Levi and Erwin became more distinct. She stopped when she could hear both of them clearly. Her heart stung slightly, she knew Levi was mad at her but to go out of his way to get rid of her hurt.

 _"See how she does. There is still a month for her to train, give her time."_ Erwin said.

_"Tch. Don't hold your breath."_

Faceless watched as Levi left Erwin's office. She leaned back on a wall, looking up at the cloudy sky. She needed to get better. She needed to prove to him she was good enough for his squad, and that she took it seriously. Her hand balled into a fist. She would not lose this new life.

She hid in the darkness as she waited for most of the soldiers to go to bed. Even if she was not in the Underground anymore, that did not mean she would forget the skills she had learnt from there. There was a reason she was considered to be so deadly. She was silent; no one would know where she was until she was on top of them. She could easily go by day to day without anyone seeing her, and now she could use it to her advantage even if it was not to kill someone. For the first time, she would use it for selfish reasons.

Faceless creeped out of the dark corner and stayed close to the walls as she made her way around the base. She sneaked past different soldiers and some cadets who had sneaked out past curfew. After ten minutes, she found herself outside the room that held the ODM Gear. By that time she had her own gear that was fitted to her body. She grabbed it quickly and made her way to the forest. With a final look, she activated the grapples and flew off in the middle of the night.

It was harder at night to navigate, especially when the clouds covered most of the moon rays, but part of her preferred it, reminded her of her times in the Underground. Her instincts kicked it, and even though her control of the gear sucked, she was able to avoid any dangerous collisions despite the lack of light.

The main thing Faceless realised from night training was she could think straight. The heat during the day and practice with the mask messed with her head more than she thought. Her reactions were slower, her stamina lacked, and her footing was heavy. She could not hold onto the grips because of the sweat from her palms, and even times it trickled down from her forehead into her eyes, making it hard to see. But now, it felt as though she was lighter. No one was around to judge her. She was alone, just like she was Underground.

-

"We just finished our breakfast, give me time to digest," Yosefina mumbled, leaning back, hand covering her now bloated stomach from all the food she ate - she had wiped her plate clean then stole food from both Hange and Faceless.

It was the next morning, and ten minutes into eating Faceless had already asked her friends to help her with training. Working at night had its perks, but if she ever got stuck, she had no one to ask for help.

"Isn't your body aching? You trained all yesterday, I remember my first day," Hange started, her face winging at the memories. "I was aching for days. Every day I woke up and felt as though I became a plank of wood overnight."

"And remember the bruises?" Yosefina added; both their faces cringed at the thought.

"Bruises?" Faceless cocked her eyebrow.

"Yeah..." Yosefina sat upright. "From the gear...the straps...you don't have them?" Faceless shook her head.

"Not that I know of."

"Trust me, you would know."

Suddenly Hange pushed up close to Faceless, their faces inches apart. Faceless flinched, though she did not move back, familiar with Hange's lack of understanding about personal space.

"You okay Hange?"

"You're so interesting, you know," she mumbled. The hungry eyes Faceless had seen the first time the two met returned. She swallowed nervously. "I wonder if it's just because you're from the Underground. That's why your body is so... _different_. If only I could get a look-" Faceless jumped back seeing Hange's left hand raising to her mask.

"I've just grown up fighting," Faceless quipped, "my body is use to working hard, and getting beat." She gave an awkward smile, hoping it was enough to stop Hange from taking off her mask. Hange was great, but her crazy science side made Faceless worry, what would happen if one day she eventually did take off her cover?

"I don't know," Yosefina joined the conversation again, biting a piece of bread. Faceless raised her eyebrows.

_When the hell did she get more food?_

"Captain Levi is from the Underground too, and he was a beast straight off the bat." Faceless' eyes widened at Yosefina's words. "Maybe it's something in the wat-"

"Levi is from the Underground?"

"Yeah. You didn't know?" Faceless shook her head. Yosefina shrugged her shoulders. "Not surprised really, he doesn't talk about it. I only know because I was here when he arrived." Faceless wanted to ask more, but she felt rude to pry behind his back. However, when she got his respect again, she would bring it up to him.

The rest of the day consisted of Yosefina and Hange helping Faceless with the ODM Gear, and just like the day before, she spent more time crashing and falling than she did flying, but she had improved, just a little. The heat was once again proving to be a problem, and she had to take more breaks than she would have liked.

"You're gonna get yourself killed at this rate," Yosefina yelled as Faceless shot off her grapples.

"Nah, I think I'm starting to get the hang o-"

**_SMASH_ **

Faceless let out an inaudible sound as her body crashed into a tree. She flopped backwards, Hange swung by, catching her before she could fall to the floor. Faceless said nothing as she laid in pain, clutching her stomach.

"You really need to keep looking where you're going," Yosefina said as she flew forward and landed beside the other two women.

"Agreed," Hange added, "otherwise you'll find yourself in a Titans' mouth."

"I'll take that advice on board," Faceless replied with a strained voice.

-

On the third night of training, Faceless found self in a ball of sweat despite the moon high in the sky. The heat from the day had carried over, and even the wind felt like hot air blowing past her. She had pondered the idea the night before, to take off her mask, but there was always the worry she would get caught. _But who would be awake at this time? And she was so far away from the base_ , was her argument against herself.

Her eyes scanned the area. There were only tree's for miles in either direction, and if anyone were to come close, her supreme hearing would ensure she could get away quickly or put the mask on to hide her face before anyone could see.

Slowly her hand raised up, she captured the material between her fingers. Suddenly, it felt as though her hand had become heavy, like a weight what attached to her elbow pulling her arm down. She had never taken her mask off outside before, even before she had a mask, she never left the house. 

_Would the air feel different on her face compared to the rest of her skin? Would it be easier to breathe without something pressuring her face?_

Faceless shook her head at the last thought, it was stupid, but yet, she found herself wondering if it to be true. Her eyes frantically looked around, as if she was a child doing something she shouldn't. She swallowed nervously as her hand raised, pulling the cloth off her bare skin. With each movement, it felt like an extra pound was added to the weights that were dragging down her arm. 

Her conscious was split in half and fighting against each other. One half was begging to stay safe. What is she got caught? What if all the hiding was for nothing? While the other side was craving for freedom. Faceless had not realised it, but she was like a pet. Despite having a home, and being able to roam it, outside of it, she was trapped behind a mask. She could not do as she pleased, not without risk.

Her breathing became heavier, her heart beating fast, it was not something she _needed_ to do, but something she _wanted_. Never before had her actions been selfish. It felt wrong, but at the same time, it made sense. She was allowed to be selfish, she spent the last twelve years fighting for others, but now she needed to work hard for herself. So she could live a new _happy_ life. A life where she did not have to alone anymore.

With a final scream, she brought her other hand to her mask, lifting both her arms into the air and yanking the mask off. The first thing she felt was the hot air hit her face. It _did_ feel different. Her dirty blonde hair fell down to her shoulders and for the first time, it felt as if she was breathing in clean air. Her head hung back, mouth slightly ajar. Her eyes shut as she enjoyed the feeling. She felt _free._ The weights that were weighing down her arms moments ago disappeared. For the first time, she did not need to hide anymore. Her eyes opened slowly; the moon shone brightly in the sky.

"WHOOO HOOO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her arms out wide as the wind blew. She placed the mask into her pocket before sending her grapples forward. Her hair was wild as she flew through the trees, though she did not realise how much of a pain it would be. She found herself moving her hair from her eyes and mouth more times than she could count. However, she grinned from ear to ear as she swung from tree to tree. Something _clicked,_ she was unsure what, but things started to make sense. She was still terrible with the ODM gear, but there was a slight improvement, even if it was just her confidence.

After a week of training non-stop, she had the basics on how to use the gear on lock. She could swing from tree to tree and land safely. But that was not enough, nowhere near, the point of the equipment was to use it so she could cut the back of Titan's necks to slay them - that is was Yosefina told her anyway. And when Faceless watched her and Hange strike the fake titan dummies, they always span, like a ballerina in the air. And for some reason, Faceless could not wrap her mind around it.

Spinning, mid-air? The thought alone made her feel sick. Faceless had good coordination when it came to fighting, but spinning and flying were two things that did not connect at all, but she needed to learn to do it.

The sky was clear, allowing the moon rays to light up the forest and reflect off her sweaty face. Her plan was simple. Attempt a single spin in the air, before grappling and landing to safety.

Was it the best idea to attempt such a thing alone and in the dark? No, probably not. But was she going to do it anyway? Of course.

"Alright. I've got this," Faceless tried to convince herself. "This is easy, just focus on grappling and landing to safety." The mask sat in her pocket as she grabbed a hair bobble from her arm and pulled back her hair into a ponytail. She had an interesting conversation with Hange to get one, though she did end up borrowing - stealing - it as Hange suddenly decided she wanted to be the one to tie up Faceless's hair. Which of course was no go.

Faceless took a deep breath before launching off the tree branch, not allowing herself anytime to convince herself to stop. She flew through the air. Her eyes zoned in on a dent in the tree in front. She needed to spin and refind the dent, so she did not get lost and could easily refind herself. With a sharp breath before releasing her grapples, she quickly turned her body - or better yet, attempted to rotate her body. But she did not move far; instead, she floated in the air for a moment, not even a quarter-turned in the direction she wanted.

"SHIT!" She yelled as she started to freefall. She launched her grappled out, not paying attention to where they landed. Her left side of her body crashed into a tree, and suddenly, she was pulled forward and flung up into the air, her scream echoed through the forest as the gas jammed open, giving her no control on her actions. The world span, and next thing Faceless knew, she was hanging upside like a bat, the wires from the gear wrapped around her. Her arms were wedged between her body and the wires, making her unable to move.

_Well, this could not get any worse..._

"What's your plan to get out this then, brat?" Her eyes shot open. She glanced to her mask that laid of the forest floor, then slowly raised to see an upside Levi, looking unimpressed with his arms across his chest.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who care, I wrote a S4 Reiner one-shot. Currently on my page if anyone would like to read it! <3


	9. Shooting Star

Faceless squealed - though Levi did not flinch at her sudden outburst. "YOU'VE GOT TO LEAVE!" She wriggled in her binds, making her body slowly turned, so her back faced him. "You can't see me!" She breathed heavy, waiting for his answer. But nothing was said. The whistle of the air made her relax. She closed her eyes as her body continued to spin slowly. But as she opened them again, she was faced with Levi who had still not moved from his spot.

Faceless let out another scream, her body wriggling. "LEAVE! NOW!"

"How do you plan to get down?" he answered.

"I-I'll figure something out!"

Anxiously she waited as her body slowly turned. She let out a sigh of relief when she realised Levi had left. She blinked away the tears that formed in her eyes. She had never felt fear strike so deep before. Her heart was beating out of her chest; she struggled to compose herself, her mind scrambled.

She looked around one more time, ensuring Levi was gone before looking up at the situation she caught herself in. She could barely move her fingers; the wires stopped her blood circulation - they were starting to go blue. Her blades were still in the holders, and the only way to get them was by unlocking them with the controller grips.

_Fuck..._

She had no way out. She was stuck. She could not move. Her cheeks flushed red and she started to feel dizzy from all the blood rushing to her face.

_This is bad..._

Faceless could not believe after all the years of being a vigilante; she could not find a way out of the situation. She had been caught in many situations before, but always found a way out. But now, with no way to move her body, she was truly fucked. She sighed deeply; she only had one choice - she needed help.

"LEVI!?" She yelled out. "I NEED YOU HELP! JUST - WHEN YOU COME, DON'T LOOK AT ME...OKAY?" Her eyes scanned the area. It had been a few minutes, and there was no answer.

_Had he really left?_

"LEVI? PLEASE!" She yelled louder; her voice echoed through the woods. She started to lose hope. No one would be around. She wondered why Levi was nearby in the first place.

_Had he been watching her? If he did not come, what would she do? Would she die from all the blood rushing to her head?_

Her thoughts were cut short when her ears picked up a faint whirring sound to her right. Her head snapped to its direction; the darkness and trees seemed infinite. Even by squinting her eyes, she could not get a clear vision of the distance. Her shoulders tensed as the whirring became louder, her head whipped around, the sound bounced off the trees making it hard to pinpoint where it was coming from.

"SHIT!" Faceless squealed as her wire was abruptly cut, sending her to the ground. Her head tucked in, and she landed on her back with a thud. She sucked in a quick breath; the drop took the winded her. Despite the pain shooting up her back, she sighed softly and smiled. The blood was returning to where it should be. She wriggled her fingers and toes to ensure they were still intact.

"You're an idiot."

Faceless' eyes shot open.

_Shit_

She scurried to her feet towards the mask, grabbing it quickly before trying to forcing it back onto her head.

"I don't see the point. I've already seen your face."

She paled. "Y-you can't tell anyone! Please! I know you don't like me bu-"

"I don't know who you are, brat."

"Huh?" her titled to the side, eyebrow cocked as he approached.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

Faceless' cheeks reddened, looking to the ground and her hand rubbing her opposite forearm. No one had ever seen her face before. It felt strange, almost like she was naked - her face was at least.

_What was he thinking? Was he judging her? Was he lying? Did he actually know who she was? But why would he lie? Did he w-_

"I said, what are you doing out here?"

She met his eyes; they were cold and stern like always. She never felt intimidated by them before, but now, she had never felt so uncomfortable before. He was the first person to see the real her, and she could not read him at all.

"I - uh - I was practising," she sheepishly smiled, gesturing to the ODM gear.

"Couldn't do it during the day?"

"Well I did, but I - uh; well, I don't like sleeping much." She shrugged, knowing her words sounded pathetic to him. "So I thought rather than wasting my time doing nothing, I would use it to get better. I'm not sure if you know, but I kinda suck with the gear and need all the practise I can get," she chuckled softly, hoping to break the tension.

Levi did not move; he stared at her, waiting for her to continue speaking. She was frustrated; she could not understand what he was thinking, she had pissed him off once, and she did not want to do it again.

"It's also easier to train at night," she resumed, hating the silence. "During the day, with the sun and the mask, I get hot pretty quick. Makes it hard to think straight."

Levi said nothing on the matter, his eyes glancing down to her hands that were still slightly blue. "Can you move them?"

Her eyebrows pulled together and followed his gaze. "Oh, yeah," she gave a tight lip smile, lifting her hand and wriggling her fingers. It fell into silence again. Faceless looked to the ground. "Thank you," she muttered, looking back to him with a soft smile. "For helping me get down."

He gave a nod of acknowledgement, though she did wonder if he was annoyed by her action. That he had to go out of his to help her—just another nuisance for him.

"Will you tell Erwin?"

"About what?"

"Well...me."

"Yes, of course, Erwin is most interested in the colour of your hair."

Faceless cheeks became a deep red. "You know that's not what I meant!"

Levi sighed. "There's nothing to tell. I don't know who you are. If anything it's possible that this whole thing is a hoax."

"Well, I can tell you it's not." She looked away. "It's the hair and the scar." she sighed softly, unsure why she was telling him but felt the need too. "They're my giveaways to who I am. You probably don't know who I am because you grew up in the Underground." His eyes widened slightly. "But up here," her eyes met his, fear evident in them. "people are looking for me."

Her voice quietened, and body closed in on its self. Even when she was captured, Faceless did not hide away, she fought fire with fire, and for the first time, Levi saw true fear strike her. He knew everyone was scared of something, but he thought she was someone who would always fight it head-on, how she cowered at the thought of being found made him realise how real it could be.

"I won't tell Erwin," he stated. Her body relaxed, the smile returning to her face.

"Thank you."

After another moment of silence, she plopped herself on the floor, her body aching from the number of hits she took. She placed her hands behind her, leaning on them and let her head fall back, staring up at the stars.

"They're so beautiful," she said, taking the conversation in a different, more comfortable direction. "What are they called again? Stars?" she looked at Levi. He nodded. She looked back up, smiling softly. "The stories that go around in the Underground don't live up to what the sky is really like."

Levi's eyes narrowed on her, and after a moment, he spoke. "I didn't realise you were so...smiley."

Faceless breathed a laugh. "Well, not everyone suppresses their emotions all the time," she teased, her eyes glancing to him. His jaw clenched, but she contuied before he could give her a snide remark. "Why wouldn't I be smiley? I'm finally free."

Levi tensed slightly. If anything, he understood that.

"I'm not going back to the Underground," her voice became stern. "I refuse too, not after knowing what I could have. That's why I was out here. I want to train as much as I can before the first expedition. I wanted to prove to you how serious I'm taking this." She looked down, a slight blush creeping on her cheeks. "I'm sorry that I disrespected you the other day, I didn't mean it, I'm just - well - not good with things, I guess." She looked up wide-eyed with a broad grin. "But I'm getting better! And you'll see by the first expedition I'll be good enough to be in your squad!"

"And you think getting tangled up in your wires will do that?"

Faceless deflated, it was not the answer she was expecting, but not one she was surprised with.

"I know you don't like me," she huffed. "But I'm trying."

Levi eyed her for a moment before taking a seat on a stump beside her, avoiding the dirt surrounding them. "I never said I disliked you,"

"You don't?" she pipped up excitedly.

"I don't like you either." Her smile dropped. "I don't want anyone dying, especially under my leadership. My squad is to be put in the most dangerous of situations, trusted with most difficult of tasks, and the last thing I want is to be looking over my shoulder cause I need to look after a brat."

"Once I get the hang of this, you won't need to look over your shoulder! I'll become someone you can trust."

" _Tch_."

"I will! Just you wait!"

Maybe it was the determined look or the way she pushed herself each day to train harder, or how whenever she fell, she would get up again, but something made part of Levi believe her.

Silence once again swallowed them. But the tension had slowly dissipated, Faceless had cleared her conscious by apologising, she saw no reason for there to be any more animosity between the two of them.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?" She suddenly yelled, catching him off guard. "That thing in the sky that went by super fast?!"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "A shooting star?"

"Oh, I've heard about them. Don't people make wishes when they see them?"

"Some do."

"Oh, oh, I want to make one." She brought her finger to her chin as she thought deeply. "Okay, I've got it. I wish-"

"Don't say it out loud."

"Why?"

"Cause you're irritating."

Faceless' expression dropped into a scowl but did as he asked, closing her eyes. Levi watched her for a moment, before looking back up to the sky. He was pulled back to the last night he spent with Farlan and Isabel, somehow, being with Faceless reminded him of them.

"What did you wish for?" She pulled him from his deep thought.

"I didn't."

"Why not?" her head tilted to the side. "Is there nothing you want?"

"I don't believe in it."

Her eyebrows pulled together; she looked back up the sky and grinned. "Fine, I'll just do one for you." She closed her eyes again. "I wish that Levi-"

_"Captain~."_

"-will survive every mission he ever goes on." She faced him, the same broad grin on her face. He did not show it, but it was a touching sentiment for her to do, not one he expected either. But quickly, her face screwed up and hands raised to slap her cheeks. "SHIT! I JUST REMEMBERED THAT IF YOU SAY A WISH OUT LOUD, IT WON'T COME TRUE!" She fell backwards to the floor, hands on her head. "I'VE KILL HUMANITIES GREATEST SOLDIER!" Her legs kicked the floor like a child throwing a tantrum.

Levi let out an irritated sigh, phasing out her babbling voice as he paid attention to the sky again. He could not help but think what a pain it would have been if Faceless and Isabel ever became friends. Though he doubted it would have been worse than the current chaos that happens when Faceless, Hange and Yosefina were together. He dreaded the upcoming expedition if the three were together.

Faceless sat back up, an unexpected serious expression on her face. Her chin trapped in-between her thumb and index finger. "What if wishes do work with a shooting star, but someone wishes that everyone else's wish shouldn't come true?"

Levi stood, finally fed up with the about of shit that came out of her mouth. He started walking away back to the base.

"Where are you going?" Faceless asked.

"Back to the base."

"But I still have some time to practise!"

"Not today-"

"But-"

He turned and gave her a stern glare. "Go to the infirmary, rest for tonight. We'll start training tomorrow evening."

"Wait, you'll train me? Seriously?" Levi walked away without another word. Faceless jumped into the air with a fist bump. "WHOO HOO!"


	10. Horse Riding

Faceless was unsure why she was more anxious than usual the following evening. Even if Levi did not intimidate her like everyone else, he was still very tense. Erwin may insist for her to stay, but in the end, Levi had the last call, it was _his_ squad, he had her life in the palm of his hands, and that was terrifying. One wrong sentence could mean her life would return to the underground. She could not read him either; she was always unsure, whether his cold stare was because he was annoyed at her all the time or because he naturally always looked like that.

"Ready?" Levi asked as he flew to the top of the tree beside her.

"Yep," she grinned - even if she did feel anxious, her excitement was overpowering it.

"Good. Now jump."

"Huh?" her face scrunched together. Levi glanced at her. "Just jump?" her finger pointed down to the floor below. When he did not reply, she looked to the ground that was many meters away; she pinched her lips. "Are you going to catch me?"

Levi eyed her as though his bullshit meter was ticking in the red zone. "Jump, and use your grapples."

"Oh..." her eyes widened, " _oh_!" Her hand raised to her face, chuckling stiffly. "Right, that makes sense. I thought you were just telling me to jump an-" she caught his harsh stare, instantly shutting her mouth. "Right, I'll just - uh - jump."

Faceless mentally scolded herself for being so stupid as she flew through the air, her grapples latching to tree's nearby. She was sure he thought she was an absolute idiot, which if she were honest, he would not be wrong. Even after a week of being surrounded by people and socialising, it was still strange. She understood the basis of human niceties by observing from afar, but being in a situation was very different. Only the other day did Faceless fully grasp the concept of 'sarcasm'. One of the young cadets used it often, and Faceless had not even realised he was using it with her until Yosefina brought it up.

"You're not terrible," was the nicest thing Levi had told her by the end of the night. She could not tell if he was impressed and testing her limits, or if she was so bad, he was secretly trying to kill her. She was exhausted and was struggling to peel the ODM gear off. He had pushed her to her limits, ensuring that she repeated the same sequence hundreds of times, his reasoning being _'until it becomes second nature'_. Though she doubted it ever would, her feet were meant to have something under them at all time; she was not a bird.

"Same again tomorrow?" Faceless asked, hopeful.

Levi eyed her. She swallowed nervously, her shoulders slumping and excitement deflating.

_Was it that bad?_

"Don't be late," he said, walking past her, "And get yourself cleaned up, you look like shit."

"Yes - okay - will do Levi!"

" _Captian~!_ "

-

"Did you sleep on the floor last right?" Yosefina chuckled as her, Hange and Faceless made their way into the mess hall.

"Fuck off," Faceless muttered, her face screwing together as she tried to push her back forward with her hands.

"Come here, I'll help," Hange said, walking behind Faceless. Faceless and Yosefina exchanged nervous glances. "Ready?"

"Ready for wh-" Faceless was cut off when Hange suddenly kicked Faceless' back, sending her flying forward. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"Does it hurt less?" Hange smiled, leaning forward.

"NO!"

Yosefina hunched over, arms wrapped around her stomach in a fit of giggles. Most of the people in the mess hall were staring at them - not that anyone was surprised; they always became the centre of attention somehow.

"So," Yosefina's giggles started to dissolve as they made their way to their seats. "Why do you look as stiff as a board?"

Faceless groaned, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. "I trained with Levi last night, and he put me to work."

"You trained with Levi?" both their eyes widened as if she grew two heads.

"Yeah? Is that strange?"

"Well, I'm not sure," Yosefina replied with her mouth stuffed with food. "I've never seen him train someone before, but if you're going to be on his squad, he probably doesn't want you to be useless."

Faceless' eyes narrowed. "I'm not useless."

"I know that," Yosefina defended, her fork pointing towards herself, "but doesn't mean he does." Her fork pointed to the left. Faceless' eyebrows pulled together, turning to follow it's direction. Levi was walking towards them.

"Once you're done, meet me at the stables," he said.

"Stables?"

Faceless watched as he walked away and out of the mess hall, her eyebrows furrowed together. Again, she was unable to read him. She sighed softly and looked back to Yosefina and Hange, both of them grinning, a glint in their eyes.

"So, you and the Captain, aye?" Yosefina's eyebrows wriggled. "Are you sure you were just, training?"

"Oh no i forgot to mention after training we went for a walk and we fucked," Yosefina's and Hange's eyes burst open.

"WHAT?" They both yelled, catching the attention of the mess hall - _again_.

Faceless lifted her hands and slapped both of them on their foreheads. "Of course we didn't you fucking idiots." The two scowled, rubbing their sore spots on their heads. Faceless looked down to her food, her fork picking at it. "If I'm honest, pretty sure he hates me."

"I'm pretty sure he hates everyone," Hange added.

Faceless placed down her cutlery with a huff. "You don't understand," she leaned forward, her voice becoming a whisper. "I heard him talking to Erwin the other day; he wants to get rid of me. The only reason I'm still here is because Erwin wants me here."

"OH MY GOD, THEY WANT TO GET RID OF YOU!" Yosefina suddenly burst into tears.

" _Shhh_!" Faceless launched forward, her hand covering Yosefina's mouth.

"I 'on' wan' o lose you 'hou'h!" Yosefina muffled.

"Just _shh_ , I wasn't supposed to hear that conversation!"

Once Yosefina had calmed down and reverted to her usual self, Faceless sat back in her seat, wiping her now slimy hand on her trousers.

"Captain Levi doesn't want people to die unnecessarily," Hange spoke up. "The last thing he wants is to go past the walls, and you die on the first mission, especially under his command."

Faceless huffed a laugh. "You make it sound like he actually has a heart."

"He does," Yosefina added, her words soft. "But it's hard being in the scouts. You see people come and go all the time, sometimes there just isn't time for emotions, or space in your heart. He may have a strange way of showing it, but I think he really does care for those around him."

Faceless's eyes looked down to her empty plate in deep thought. She could not read Levi, no matter how hard she tried, never knew what he was thinking, so what is so impossible to think his harsh ways was because he cared?

"OH DADDY I MISS YOU SO MUCH!" Yosefina suddenly blurted out, tears streaming down her face as she looked up to the sky, her hand clutching her shirt where her heart would be.

"That's my cue to leave," Faceless gave a quick wave to Hange before leaving her with the emotional Yosefina.

-

Faceless dragged her feet as she made her way to the stables. Her mind was racing with thoughts. _Why did Levi want to see her at the stables? What did he have planned? Weren't they only training together at night? Though he never specifically said that._

"You ever rode a horse before?" Levi said as she turned the corner.

"A horse? No, w-" Faceless jumped back when a deep heated breath hit the side of her face. A large horse stood behind a gate; it's head leaning forward towards Faceless.

"Then you're going to learn today."

"Learn to ride a horse?" She grimaced, her eyes focused on the animal in front of her, taking another step back to further their distance. Levi did not respond, that in its self answered her question - he did not like to repeat himself. "W-Why, must I learn to ride a," she swallowed nervously, "horse?" She looked to him with a forced smile.

"How else do you plan to travel outside the walls?" He did not bother looking at her as he placed a saddle on his own horse.

"Uh-" she chuckled stiffly, "I did not think about it. Just assumed the ODM gear would do the job."

"And how do you think that will work out when there are no tree's around?"

Faceless eyes widened. "There's no tree's outside the walls?" Levi focused on the task at hand. "Like none at all, is it just a big open field?" Curiosity was getting the better of her. "Does it look like it goes on forever? Like just a forever horizon? What about when the sun goes up and down, does i-" Levi walked over and flicked the top of her forehead.

"Train like you're supposed to, and maybe one day you'll find out."

Faceless' eyes narrowed, her hand reaching to her forehead, rubbing the sore spot - despite the cloth barrier, it still hurt. "So, this," she motioned to the horse, "is training?"

"Yes, and if you listened to the instructor during your actual training, rather then having your finger up your ass, you would have known that."

Faceless' mouth opened to reply but shut it after a moment knowing he was somewhat correct. She did not take her original training seriously. But who could blame her, she was surrounded by kids, who were constantly mumbling things about her. And it was her first time being above ground, how was she meant to stay focused?

"Can't I just run? I'm pretty fast."

"Are you now?"

"Yeah, I mean, you could barely keep up with me even though you were using the ODM gear," she smugly answered, arms folded over her chest.

"Fine," Levi turned to face her.

"Really?" her face lit up at the unexpected response.

"No," he slapped her up the backside of her head. "outside the walls, the horses will always be your best chance of survival. Learn to ride them, or go back to the shithole you came from - both work for me." He turned back to his horse.

"You do realise you also came from that shithole, right?"

"I enjoyed keeping my place clean."

"And you thought I just lived in the garbage? Kept my place a mess?"

"With how you keep yourself now, I wouldn't be surprised."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're such an asshole."

"And you're a brat." He turned to face her again, finally finished with setting up his saddle. "Are you getting on the fucking horse, or am I wasting my time?"

Faceless huffed, her shoulders slumping forward and eyebrows furrowing together as she eyed the horse behind the gate. It was a large creature, both in width and height. Its mouth hovered just over her head. It let out another deep breath; it's head shaking side to side.

"This will be _my_ horse?"

"Yes, the previous owner died on the last mission." For a moment, Faceless saw a flicker of sadness in his eyes before they returned to usual. It made her think about what Yosefina and Hange said earlier, that he did care, but was never one to show it.

"Does it have a name?"

"No idea."

Faceless stared at the horse's eyes, seeing herself in them. She swallowed apprehensively and took a step forward, her arm rising and hand approaching its muzzle. Her approach was slow, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts about the creature; she was sure it could take her out in a single kick.

"I don't have all day," Levi stated. Faceless' jaw clenched, trying to ignore his intense stare. She knew she was not going at the fastest pace, but it was her first time, he needed to give her a break. "Just fucking touch the horse, it's not going to bite you." Her hand dropped to her side, frustrated.

"Just shut the fuck up and let me do this at my own pace!"

"Then we'll be here till next morning. Unlock the gate, grab the reins, and guide it out of the stable."

For a moment, the two exchanged a cold stare. Faceless' lips pressed together, her teeth grinding and hands balled into a fist. "Fine," she finally said. "I'll just do that then." With a quick breath in, she eyed the horse one more time before taking the rein's into her hands and unlocking the gate. To her surprise, the horse did not flinch at either action. She subtly glanced to Levi to see he had not moved from his spot.

The horse followed her with ease as she guided it out of the stable. She could not help but be proud, grinning from ear to ear.

"I did it!"

"Good fucking job." She wished he tried to match her enthusiasm. "Now get on so we can get going. I don't want to be coming back in the dark."

_Coming back in the dark? How long did he plan to go out for?_

"Uh-" she chuckled awkwardly, her free hand reaching the back of her neck.

"What?" he was becoming irritated.

"How do I - uh - get on?"

Levi was starting to think he made a mistake.

"Stick your foot in the holder, and then kick your leg over."

"What if the horse moves?"

"He won't."

"You don't know that. I could fall off and th-"

"For fucks sake," Levi walked forward, taking the reins into his hand. "I've got him. Now get on."

Faceless grinned, pleased that he was helping her despite how irritated he was. She repositioned herself, her hands grabbing the top of the saddle. With two quick hops, she placed all her weight onto her left foot - which was in the holder - before pulling herself up and throwing her right leg over. Her grip on the saddle tightened when she felt herself going too far - she squealed, panic rising in her.

Levi was quick to grab her leg, stopping her from sliding off.

"Thank you," she sheepishly smiled down at him.

" _Tch_. Squeeze your legs so you keep balance. Because next time, I'm letting you fall."

Faceless nodded, understanding his point. He contuied to explain the basic rules of horse riding, and once she got over the fear of falling off, it came naturally to her. She was not perfect, but the horse - Axel she decided to name it - listened to her reasonable well. Or it was a very well trained horse. Either way, she never lost control of him, and even if she did, Levi was always close by, ready to help if she needed. However, she did wonder if she did lose control if he would just let her go flying purely to amuse himself.

As she became more confident, she found herself standing up, weaving through the woods at a quicker pace than before. Her eyes flashed with waves of excitement and wonder, her grin broad, and she felt like she was on cloud nine. It was different from using the ODM gear; somehow, she felt more in control.

Faceless looked over her shoulder, Levi was trailing just behind her, slightly to the left. They met eyes, and she found herself flushing and giggling, her heart beating just a little faster - for the first time, he did not look disappointed in her.

"TRY KEEP UP LEVI!" She laughed, turning her attention forward again, tightening the reins slightly so Axel would speed up, jumping over a fallen tree.

Levi did not bother to correct her, watching her as she made her way through the trees with ease.

_At least she isn't completely useless..._

"COME ON! NO WAY HUMANITIES GREATEST IS THAT SLOW!"

Levi did not see the need to answer or to prove her wrong, but yet, part of him wanted too. He stood, leaning forward, his legs tightening around the horse before harshly whipping his reins. His horse's front feet pulled up before dashing forward, straight past Faceless and Axel with ease. He did not bother looking back when he heard her yell after him. Something along the lines of _'how the fuck'_.

"That is not fair," Faceless said as she caught up to Levi. He had stopped at the edge of a cliff, waiting for her. "You are your horse have lots of experience together, me and Axel are still learning."

"Don't talk shit if you can't back it up."

"Don't talk shit if you can't back it up," Faceless mimicked him like a child as she jumped off Axel, her face screwing up and voice distorted. Levi narrowed his eyes at her, not that she noticed, her attention captured by the horizon in front of her. Over the cliff stood a lake, the sun at its peak, clouds littered the sky, but none block the sun rays that pounded down on them.

"WHOO HOO!" She screamed as she threw her arms out to the side. She watched her sounds waves fly upwards, slowly disappearing into the air. It was a reminded she was free, that she was no longer in the underground trapped where her voice had nowhere to go but to rebound back to her. She stared out at the still water; her eyes scanned the edges of the lake, the whole thing surrounded by trees. It was as if she was looking at a painting, yet she felt a painting could not capture the real beauty of it all.

"You can take your mask off now, we're far enough away from the base," Levi said. Faceless' body stiffened. She said nothing. " _Tch_ , brat, I said you can take your mask off." Slowly, her head turned to face him. His eyebrows pulled together. The light faded from her eyes until they were dark and empty. Levi had learned quickly that Faceless' eyes gave away what she was feeling more than her voice, she held most of her emotions in them, and he could not understand where the sudden fear had come from. "What's wrong?"

Faceless took a subtle step backwards, her mouth open and skin pale. Her eyes darted around the treeline, a bead of sweat forming at the top of her head.

"W-why would you want me to take my mask off?" she gave a shaky smile.

"You said you found it hard to train during the day with it on," he answered bluntly, though he could tell something was very off.

Her chest raised and fell quickly as she breathed through her nose; she took another step back. "Why did you bring me out here?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why did you bring me out here?!"

Levi stayed in his place, his lips pressed together. "To train, why else."

Faceless' head shook left and right. "We could have done that in the evening, like planned. You never said anything about today!"

"In case you've forgotten, but you're shit with the ODM gear, and there are less than three weeks till the expedition. You need all the training you can get."

"No," she took another step back, her blue eyes becoming watery. As she turned to leave, Levi grabbed her wrist, seeing through her actions. But before he could say anything, she sent a fist to his face. He dodged it, only an inch before it hit him. She tried to pull her wrist from his hold, but he did not let go. He quickly swiped her legs, sending her to the floor, he leaned forward, his forearm pressing to her neck.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he demanded.

"GET OFF!" she yelled, her legs kicking and hands clawing at his arm.

"What is wrong?!"

"THEY'RE GOING TO GET ME!"

"What are you talking about?"

"THE MEN YOU BROUGHT HERE! THIS IS A TRAP; I KNOW IT IS!" Levi's eyebrows pulled together; he had no idea what she was talking about. He saw the same fear in her eyes as the night before, when she spoke of people going after her. Tears welled up as she fought against his hold. He was surprised he was holding her down with such ease.

"What shit is coming from your mouth."

"You betrayed me! Want me to get caught!" Her voice was strained as she continued to fight against him. "You recognised who I was and are giving me over to them."

Levi finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, and he was unsure whether he was furious with the accusation or concerned. "Are you an idiot?" He growled. "I don't know who you are, and even if I did, I don't give two shits-"

"LIAR!" She yelled back, her head lifting off the floor. "Why else would you go out of your way to help me like this? You don't give a shit about me!"

His jaw clenched, his lip curled into a snarl as he leaned down, making their faces close. Faceless let out a small whimper as his forearm pressed harder against her throat and she stopped squirming under his dark stare. "You're part of my squad now, and I've got to put up with you whether I like it or not. So you better get your head out of your ass and start to trust me."

The air was heavy, their eyes locked like magnets, both mixed with emotions. "And what if I don't?"

"I don't remember you having a choice."

Faceless broke the eye contact, unable to hold his stare. She stopped fighting, biting down on her lip to stop any whimpering from escaping her lips. A second later, Levi pulled his arm off and fell to the floor beside her. That sat in silence, staring out at the horizon. A few minutes later, Faceless brought her head to the top of her head, and let it drop to her lap, pulling the mask of her face simultaneously. Levi glanced to her for a brief second.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her finger twidling with her mask. "I was just," she swallowed nervously, wiping away a tear that slipped, "scared."

Levi let out a heavy sigh. "No one is coming after you."

"Not yet, what happens when they start?"

"They wo-"

"You don't know that," she looked at him. Her brows furrowed together, he met her eyes, the same pools of fear in them; it was becoming a sight he did not like seeing.

"Then we fight them off. Any scum dumb enough to think they could try to attack us won't be hard to take down."

Faceless' face lit up. "You'll help me?"

Levi did not respond, though Faceless had learnt not to take it as a negative thing. Levi was not a man who held conversations for long, a man of few words, and he did not like stating the obvious. She looked back down to her twidling fingers, smiling slightly.

_Maybe he did have a heart._


	11. The Night Before

The training continued each night, and every other day Faceless and Levi would take the horses and train further in the woods so she could take off her mask. As freeing as it was, it was also terrifying. Being out in the open during the day, where anyone could see her at any time. Levi picked up on her cautiousness, but said nothing about it, focusing on training, but there was no doubt it affected her concentration.

Levi focused on Faceless' mobility, while when she trained with Hange and Yosefina, she focused on improving her strikes on the titan dummies, and surprise surprise, she sucked at that too. Faceless was furious, through her years of fighting, blades were a common weapon, yet she could not produce a proper slice through the dummies. They were always too shallow or short, and she was starting to get pissed off.

Finally, after a week of non-stop mobility training, Levi had started helping her use her blades too, and even he could not understand why she struggled. He had been so focused on her movement with the ODM gear because he thought she would have no problem using the blades.

"I don't get it," Faceless huffed, landing on the tree beside Levi, staring at the shallow cut she had just made into the titan dummy. "Give me a normal blade and a neck, and I could cut it however you want. Want me to cut the whole head off? Sure. Want me to cut just enough, so it takes hours for the person to bleed out? Easy. Want me to shape a man's fucking adam's apple. Piece of cake, but want me to slice a Titan's neck? Not happening apparently." She sat down with a huff.

Levi said nothing but watched as she threw a temper tantrum. He too was becoming frustrated with the situation at hand. They only had two more weeks, and he did not know if she would be prepared in time, even if she did practise every hour of the day.

"What am I doing wrong?" she said out loud, the question neither directed to herself or him. "Why do I suck at this?"

Levi wondered if she was overthinking, or if her mind was wandering like it usually did, or if she was just paranoid with her mask off. Still, even then, they were training in the evening, it usually did not affect her as much.

"Can't you fly around a bit," she looked up to him, "show me how it's done? Maybe I can learn what I'm doing wrong from watching you. As your greatest humanities soldier and all." She forced a smile - she had a habit of trying to make light of most situations, and Levi was unsure whether it was a positive attribute or not.

"If you think copying me is going to work, I'll tell you now; it's not."

"I know," her hand raised to the back of her neck. "I just want a break is all. I don't enjoy sucking at everything."

Levi eyed her. Her shoulders slumped forward, her head hanging low. No matter how many times Faceless failed, she had never given up, and yet now he was seeing her on the verge of a breakdown.

He launched his grapples forward, easily manoeuvering through and around the trees. Faceless watched him with keen eyes. He movements were smooth, his weight easily changing on the harness to allow for an easy change in direction. Not a single time did he fight against the pull but moved with it. It was not the first time she had seen him use the ODM gear, but it was the first time she watched him so closely. Even now she understood why he was considered so good, Hange and Yosefina had nothing on him.

Faceless' eyebrows pulled together when he brought his blades up to slice the titan dummy. It was a perfect slice - as expected, but his technique was different from Hange and Yosefina. When Levi landed on the tree beside her, she stood and walked towards him, eyeing his hands.

"Why you do hold your blades like that?" she asked.

"I prefer it, more comfortable."

"Huh," she looked down at her own hands. She held the controller grips so her blades were facing outwards, towards her target, while Levi held his with the blades lining down his leg, same direction as his arm. Faceless flicked the controller grips, catching them again with ease so they matched Levi. Her hands squeezed and released a few times, becoming familiar with how they felt in her hand. She looked up, meeting his gaze and grinned.

Faceless said nothing as she sent her grapples out, copying Levi's action from a moment ago. She followed the same path he took, trying to mimic his actions, though hers seemed like it was being done by an old man, each action stiff, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not find her flow as he did.

When she approached the dummy, her hands tightened around the controller grips, and she sucked in a quick breath.

Her surroundings changed. The tree's turned into buildings, the soil into concrete and the moon that illuminated the area disappeared, replaced by a street lamp's flickering light. Faceless froze when she realised she was back into the underground, she scanned the area, her eyes stopping when she saw a man dragging a woman down an alleyway.

Faceless followed, ensuring not to make a sound as she jumped from roof to roof. The women screamed for help as the man threw her against the wall. He was drunk, even from high above Faceless could smell it off him. She twiddled the end of the blade in her fingers as she glanced up and down, ensuring no one else was nearby. As the man started to force himself onto the women, she launched forward.

Faceless' grapples locked into the wall as she flew down, her small knife turned back into her blades, the man's nape reflected in her eyes, when she swung her arms, he became the titan dummy, and as her blades sliced through the wood, she returned to the forest.

The slice was good, not great, but was far better than any of her previous attempts. She landed beside Levi again, grinning from ear to ear.

"Look, look!" she pointed towards her cut. "I did it, Levi!

_"Captain~."_

"That would take down a Titan, right?" Her face inches from his, waiting for his answer, bouncing on the ball of her feet with excitement.

"You did one good strike, not something to get excited about. It's useless if you can't do it again."

Her smiled dropped, she slumped back. "You know it wouldn't hurt you to compliment me every once in a while."

"I will, once you give me something to compliment."

-

There was just under a week and a half to go till the first expedition when someone knocked at Faceless' door. She quickly grabbed her mask, her hands raised, and body automatically falling into a fighting stance. Even after three weeks, she was on edge, and even if she did trust Levi more, there was always that voice in the back of her mind telling her to be cautious.

"Hey brat, you better not still be sleeping."

Faceless blew her cheeks out, relaxing at the familiar voice. Though her wariness did not disappear entirely, he had never knocked on her door before. What was so important he could not wait until she got to the mess hall?

"How can I help, Levi?" she opened her door just enough to poke her head outside.

" _Captain_ ~" he growled like always but did not push the matter. "Can I come in?"

Her lips pursed. When did he ever ask to do anything?

"Sure..."

Faceless watched his every move; she peeked outside, seeing if anyone else was nearby. No one was, but she did not drop her guard as she shut the door. She subtly approached her bedside table; if he were to attack, she could use it to her advantage. She looked him up and down, one of his hands were in his pocket, the other holding an unrecognisable object.

"What do you want?" her voice was harsher than usual.

Levi picked up on her dangerous demeanour but said nothing on the matter. "You said the way people will recognise you is from your hair and scar, correct?"

"Yes..."

_Why did he need to know that? Was he selling her out? Did it take so long because he was looking for the right buyer? Or just waiting for the perfect time to catch her out? Wait until they were closer? Until she trusted him?_

"These should be enough then." Her eyebrows furrowed together when Levi dropped two items onto her bed.

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"This mask, it'll cover the bottom half of your face, and this," he pointed to a small bottle on the bed, "it'll change the colour of your hair."

"I-I still don't understand..."

Levi sighed and walked over to her, "you won't be able to wear this on the expedition." He pulled at her thick mask, "I can't have you losing focus because you're too hot."

Faceless was speechless. She approached her bed, eyeing the objects. "So, these are to, _help me_?"

"If I wanted to reveal you're identity I would have done so already. I told you before; I don't give a shit who you are."

Faceless bit on the inside of her cheek, staring down at her twidling fingers. She felt stupid, embarrassed even. She was too busy thinking about how he would betray her to realise he would not do such a thing; in fact, the reason he had come to her that morning is to help her. In the last two weeks, he never showed any sign that he would reveal her secret to anyone; he still had not told Erwin. Everything he had done was to help her, from the horse riding to the training, and now to this.

"Thank you," she smiled, " _Captain._ "

He paused for a moment, before nodding his head in acknowledgement before leaving.

Faceless' head tilted to the side as she inspected the items. The first one was a small facemask, not like the one she was wearing, cotton and hid her whole face. This new mask was small, rectangle-shaped, and at the edge of the shorter sides were elastics, acting as loopholes.

Faceless pulled off her current mask, the one that covered her whole head, and walked over to the mirror. She inspected the new mask, her hands pulling on the elastic.

"Ow," she muttered, shaking her stinging hand as she accidentally pinged the elastic. She pushed her lips together, her thumb and index finger, pushing the elastic up and down, inspecting it. She watched herself in the mirror as she brought it to her face, pulling the elastic around her ears.

"Fucks sake..." she muttered when she let go, the elastic pinging onto her ears. The mask covered half of her face, finishing at the bottom of her chin and just above her nose. It was easy to breathe, far easier than her other mask.

Faceless then looked at the small bottle on her bed. Inside was a thick black liquid and wrapped around the outside was a note. She opened it, and it read:

_Instructions_

-

"Are you new?" Yosefina asked when Faceless took a seat opposite her in the mess hall.

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? It's me."

Hange and Yosefina's eyes shot open. "SKYE?" they yelled.

"Yeah, didn't think I looked that different..." Suddenly she felt insecure as they stared intensely - as if trying to burn a hole through her.

"But what about your skin?" Hange leaned closer to Faceless. "Won't it burn because of the sun?" They touched her skin, mouth open, a slight drool escaping the corner of their mouth.

Faceless eyes widened, realising she needed to lie again. "Uh, no?" she cleared her throat. "No." she tried to sound convincing. "It turns out that - uh - it's my lips."

"Lips?"

"Yeah, they become very - uh - dry, if exposed to the sun. So that's why's I only need to cover the bottom half of my face." Faceless nodded as doing so would help convince them.

Hange and Yosefina gave each other sceptical glances but said nothing more on the matter.

"Not going to lie," Yosefina started, "I thought you would have blonde hair. With your blue eyes, thought light hair made sense." Faceless chuckled awkwardly, her finger twidling her now black hair. It was strange when she looked in the mirror after the change - black hair was odd, it did change her appearance quite a bit, but it was a good insurance that people would less likely recognise her.

-

Later that afternoon, after her training with Hange and Yosefina, Faceless found herself standing out of Levi's door. She did not know why she had gone there; she was in a daydream as she walked around, feeling a little freer than before, and then suddenly she was outside his door.

She rocked back and forth on her feet, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip as she thought about what to do. She was sure he would tell her to fuck off, but still, she could not know unless she tried. Her eyes squeezed shut when she gave two hard knocks at his door.

"Who is it?" he said from inside, annoyed with the disruption.

"It's me - uh - Skye."

"What do you want?" he sounded even more irritated.

"Uh - to -" Why was she there? Not even she knew. "Talk?"

"That's why you have Hange and Yosefina. I'm busy."

Faceless' leg bounced, she thought about asking again but knew better not to. He would not change his answer, not straight away anyway.

So Faceless left and returned the next day at the same time. Doing the same as before, knocking and asking to talk, but he gave the same answer.

_He was busy._

Even after their training with the horses, she tried to walk back with him, but he sent her away when they arrived at his door. Neither of them brought it up at their training during the evening, Faceless was too embarrassed, and Levi did not think anything of it.

Eventually, five days before the expedition, Levi opened the door to her.

"Can I come in?" she asked, her nails pressing into her palm.

"If I say no, you'll just come back tomorrow."

Her cheeks turned red. "That's true..." she muttered, her eyes darting to the floor, avoiding his cold stare.

"Are you coming in or not?"

"Uh - yes," she walked in, he shut the door behind her. The first thing that she realised was how tidy the place was, she knew Levi was a clean person, but the place was spotless. No dust, dirt and everything was piled up neatly - as if every object had a specific place to sit.

"So what do you want, brat?"

"Uh -" she chuckled awkwardly as she turned to face him. "To talk?"

"I'm sorry, when we practise for hours each day were we shitting in each other's mouths?"

Faceless nose crinkled at the thought, she was used to his crude comments, but sometimes they still caught her off guard. "We only talk about training. What if we talk about other stuff?"

"No." He turned and walked into another room.

Faceless followed. "Why not?"

"You have Yosefina and Hange. Go bother them."

Her lips pressed together, her hand clenching and unclenching into a fist. Her eyes darted around the room, her foot tapping before she gave an exasperated sigh. "It's different with them. I have to lie about things and my life - who I am. I don't like doing that, it's wrong and-" she gave an irritated sigh, unable to put her thoughts into words.

Her head dropped forward. "With you, I feel like I can be the real me. And I haven't had that...ever. We don't have to talk; it's just comfortable to be around someone who I can...trust."

There was a moment of silence. Whether it was awkward or not Faceless did not know, too filled in her own thoughts. Her head rose and met his usual cold, steely glare, though for a moment it seemed to soften, but it was gone too quick to be sure. She swallowed nervously, wondering what he was thinking.

"Fine, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm busy." He sat in his chair and turned his focus to the work on his desk - even that seemed to be set out neatly.

Faceless smiled softly; she was glad he did not kick her out. She looked around. They were in his study room. One wall was filled with books, the other had his desk pushed against it, and the third had a small cabinet in the corner. It looked out of place compared to the rest of the room.

Even as she slid her hand down the spines of the books, no dust came off them. It was filled with genres of all type, though most of it was non - fiction.

"Do you like to read?" she asked.

"Yes."

She huffed a laugh. "I never took you as someone who liked to read." When he did not answer, she looked at him. His eyes were down, legs crossed over each other, quill in hand and writing something she could not read from her position. "Reading was all I had in the underground - apart from fighting of course..."

Levi paused writing for a second, but made no move to respond, continuing again a moment later. "I feel like I read everything in the underground, I never found anything new, so I started rereading my favourites." She smiled to herself. "There was one book I read like four times, it was about a-" she stopped herself when Levi narrowed his eyes at her.

"Right," she chuckled, "you're busy." She sighed and brought her attention back to the bookcase. Her fingers tapped lightly on the spine of each book as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"So, do you have a favourite boo-?"

"Just grab a book, sit down, and shut up," Levi interrupted, irritated. She grinned at him, nodding quickly, picking out a book she had been eyeing for a while and sitting in the spare seat. And there she stayed content for the next few hours; not a single time did she speak, immersed into the book she picked up.

A few times Levi looked over to her, part of him concerned she had fallen asleep or simply passed out, but each time he was surprised to see her smiling to herself, her eyes flying back and forth across the book.

The next few evenings, the same happened again - though those times Faceless instantly grabbed the book from the bookshelf, sat down in her seat and read through the evening until it was time to train. She never wanted to take the book to her room because she was worried if she damaged it Levi would kill her. And, she enjoyed being in his company, even if they did not talk. It was a strange mix of the comfort of her life in the underground, mixed with her new one.

Levi had become an anchor for her. A place to feel safe. At times she wanted to talk to him, try and have a conversation, but what he said the first night was correct. They did talk when they were training, and even though he was an asshole at times, he also made her laugh - most of the time unintentionally - and he trained her hard, to ensure she had a fighting chance when the mission arrived.

"What's that?" she asked him when he brought in a tray with a pot and two cups on top.

"Tea."

"Tea?"

"Yes."

"What's Tea?"

"A drink." He lifted the pot and filled two cups, steam rising from them. Faceless' head titled when he picked one up and handed it to her.

"If you spill it, I'll kill you."

"Uh - Thank you." She took it from his hands, her eyebrows furrowed together. She lifted the cup up, looking underneath, inspecting it. Confused, she looked at Levi. He picked the mug up by the top as he brought it up to his mouth to drink.

Faceless copied his actions but pulled away quickly when it burnt her tongue. "It's hot!" She stuck her tongue out, hoping the air would cool down her burn.

"Yes, and blood is red."

"It's meant to be hot?"

Levi closed his eyes, trying his best to stay calm. "Yes, wait for it to cool down before drinking it." Faceless nodded, looking back down at the drink. She had never had a hot drink before, she heard they existed, but if they ever were in the underground, they were not easy to come by.

After a few minutes, she tried again. The taste was strong - bitter and earthy. At first, she was unsure she liked it, but a few more sips and she found herself rather enjoying it - especially the warmth that came with it, it felt as though the liquid had entered her bloodstream and circulated it all around her body.

"Why are you holding it like that?" Levi asked.

"Because that's how you're holding it."

Levi's eyes narrowed, he stood and made his way to her, stopping when his face was only inches from hers. He grabbed her spare hand and brought it up to the mug handle. "That's how you hold it."

"Then why do you hold it the other way?"

He said nothing as he made his way back to his seat. Faceless tried to get him to talk more about himself, but he either ignored the question entirely or gave a vague answer.

-

The last evening before the mission was the same as the previous. Faceless sat reading while Levi did his work, followed by some Tea. Despite him showing her the correct way to drink it, she followed his technique instead. She liked how the heat from the liquid heated her hand as she drank it.

"You're not training tonight," Levi stated, breaking the silence.

She looked up from her book. "Why not? Shouldn't I try to get as much training as I can in?"

"I can't have you being tried tomorrow. You need as much rest as you can."

"It won't make a difference; I only ever sleep a few hour-"

"I don't care. We're not training tonight."

Faceless huffed, she did not agree but did not to argue either. He was her Captain, and she had to follow his orders whether she liked it or not. Midnight came quicker than expected; she was too lost in her book to realise.

"Alright, you can fuck off now." He stood from his chair.

Faceless chuckled. "Always so polite."

" _Tch,_ it's an early start. So get as much rest as you can."

She nodded and stood, placing her empty mug on the tray and slotting her book back into its place. Before leaving, she stopped at the doorway.

"I forgot to say thank you."

"For?"

"Helping me - with everything."

" _Tch_. Don't thank me yet."

"Then, when?"

"When you survive the first expedition."

Silence consumed them, and Faceless did not move, she watched as Levi finished his work. Her finger lightly tapped on the doorframe. She fell into a daydream. Her training from the last few weeks replaying in her mind. Levi's voice drilled in her head, Yosefina's sudden outburst making her laugh and Hange's obsession with experiments scaring her slightly. Everything led up to prepare Faceless for the mission tomorrow, one that she could easily die on.

"Why are you still here?" Levi said.

She met his eyes. She sighed softly, the corner of her lip pulling up slightly. "Thia."

"What?"

"That's my real name. I think if I should die tomorrow, it would be nice if at least one person knew who I really was."


	12. The First Expedition

"Thia open the door!" she sat up at the sound of her name. "Thai!" She stared at the door, eyebrows furrowed.

"Levi?"

"Open the door!"

She swallowed nervously as she got out of bed. "Is something wrong?"

"Open the door before I break it down!"

She paused. Levi would not say such a thing. In fact, this voice did not sound like him at all.

"Who are you?"

"Open the door!"

"What do you want?"

"We know who you are, _Thia_." She stumbled backwards, her hand landing on her bedside cabinet. "You've been hiding for a long time." She opened the top draw as the person started to barge at the door. "But now we've found you." Her hand searched for an object, anything she could use as a weapon; her eyes stayed glued to the door that was slowly breaking open.

"Come on, Thia," his voice grew darker as he barged into the door again, "time to come out and play." With a final hit, the door swung open. She stood face to face with a large man—one as tall as Erwin and as wide as the drunken bastards in the Underground.

He entered the room with a Cheshire like grin plastered on his face. "Well, aren't you a pretty one."

She froze in place. Her heart raced, each thump feeling as though her heart was trying to break her ribs. Adrenaline flew through her veins like carp through a river, but she could not move a muscle. She was paralysed with fear.

"Who would have thought, Faceless from the underground, would turn out to be such a prize."

The man walked forward, his strides long; it only took three steps before he was directly in front of her. His hand cupped her face, his thumb and finger digging into his cheeks as he inspected her.

"How did you find me?" she found her voice.

The man laughed. "Did you really think Levi Ackerman was your friend?" Her eyes shot open.

"He wouldn't do that."

"Oh," he was amused, "you think? That's cute. Who'd think you'd be so naive," his eyes grew dark, his head tilting to the side. " _Thia Reiss_."

"No, no!" she cried. Her arms raised, pushing against the man's hard chest. "Let go of me!" The man let out another belly laugh.

"You're feisty." His grip on her face tightened as he leaned in. "I like that." She grimaced and launched her fist forward into his stomach, but he did not flinch. "If I say ow, will that make you feel better?"

"FUCK YOU!" She spat at him. He was unimpressed, his free hand wiping the spit off his face.

"That, I did not like so much." He wrapped his hand around her throat roughly. She sucked in a quick breath, her hands grasping at his, begging for release. She pushed to her tiptoes, trying to get air to her lungs. She tried to speak, ask for mercy, but she could not find her words.

"No more misbehaving, okay?" his sinister singsong tone returned, and when she nodded, he threw her to the floor. She gasped, trying her best to suck in as much air at once, her body craving it. She looked up at him, her hand delicately touching her neck where he grabbed her.

Before he could speak again, she dashed for the door. "LEVI!" But he grabbed her foot, making her faceplant the floor. "No, get off!" She kicked at him, her hand reaching for the door handle.

"You're getting on my nerves now," the man sent a solid kick to her leg.

**_CRACK_ **

She screamed as her leg rushed with pain. Tears instantly strung her eyes, her hands balling into a fist. The man dropped her leg. She whimpered as it hit the floor with a thud, unable to control it. He grabbed her hand that was still outreached, his foot raising.

"No, _please-"_

**_CRACK_ **

She screamed out in agony. A scream that would match an animal, it was primal, raw, something that if one heard, they could not ignore. Tears streamed down her face as he allowed her to go limp on the floor. She continued to scream; her voice strained as her body riddled with pain.

"LEVI!"

The man laughed.

"Why would he come to save you? He's the reason you're in this mess."

Her shoulders shook harshly with each sob; her heart was heavy like a weight was attached to the bottom of it. With each scream, she took a deep breath, her lungs begging for air. The man threw her over her shoulder.

"LEVI!" She could find any other words as he exited her room.

"He's not coming. And he never will."

"LEVI!" Thia shot up; her body drenched in sweat and her face bleach white. Her hand instinctively shot up to her neck. She scanned her room. She was alone. The door was intact. A small amount of light started to seep through her window, indicating it was becoming the morning.

Thia's feet pushed on the bed, scampering back so she was in the corner of the room; her adrenaline was still high, she needed to calm herself down. She cradled her arm, the pain still lingering as she pulled her legs to her chest. She sunk into the corner as her eyes became watery, her hands gripping the side of her arms as she cuddled herself.

She did not know how long she stayed there for, in a paralysed fear, her eyes glued to the door, the scenes from her nightmare replaying, though slowly they were fading. Despite the lingering feeling that remained, she trusted that Levi had not told anyone her name. She was paranoid. He was the first person to know who she was, to know her real name, how could she not be paranoid? She had no choice to trust him full-heartedly and that she did.

**_Knock Knock_ **

"Brat, you awake?"

Yet there was still part of her that feared for her life.

"Oi, you best not be sleeping. You need to eat before we leave."

"I'm a-" she cleared her throat, "I'm awake."

"Good. Meet me at the stables in half an hour."

Thia placed on her original mask, the one that covered her whole head, before making her way to the mess hall. She kept her eyes down, her nails digging into her palm as she rushed to her seat beside Hange and Yosefina.

"I told you she would be nervous!" Yosefina declared, her hand sticking out, palm facing upwards to Hange. "Pay up!" Hange rolled their eyes but placed their bread roll into Yosefina's hand.

"What's with the mask? I thought you said the sun didn't affect you?" they asked.

Yosefina shrugged, her eyes staying on her food. "Easier to eat with this mask," she said; it was not a lie, it was easier, but it was not the real reason. Hange and Yosefina gave each other nervous glances.

"It's going to be okay," Yosefina reached over and squeezed her hand. Thia met her eyes. "You're going to be with Levi. He'll have your back."

Thia grimaced. "I know he will."

"And me and Hange will be the closest to your left." She grinned, her thumb pointing to them.

"Closest to my left?"

"Yeah, the formation."

"Formation?"

"You don't know the formation?" Hange asked. Thia shook her head. "What about the flares?"

"Why do we need flares?"

"What the hell has Levi been teaching you?!"

-

Thia was forced to eat her breakfast - despite not having an appetite - and pushed herself to the stables. It was busier than she expected. The atmosphere riddled with nerves as soldiers were preparing for the expedition. It was obvious who were the new cadets vs the veterans. The stern expressions vs the pale faces, the ones who were speaking words of wisdom vs the ones that were babbling things that made no sense.

"What took you so long?" Levi said as he spotted her. "And what the fuck are you wearing?"

Thia looked down at herself. "My uniform?"

Levi grabbed her arm and pulled her into a stable were no others were around.

"I'm talking about this," he grabbed the side of her mask.

"What's wrong with it?" Thia acted innocently.

He narrowed his eyes. "You're not coming on the mission with it on."

"What? Why not?"

"You said it yourself, you'll get too hot in it, and I can't have you losing focus out there. It could make the difference between surviving or dying." Thia looked to the ground, knowing he was correct. "You told me you'd be someone I can trust. That I won't have to look over my shoulder to look after you."

"You won't," she muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Then prove it."

Thia swallowed, her hand raised to grab the top of her mask, before pulling it off her face. She bit her lip softly, a smiling forming.

"I'm just starting to think you like looking at my face," she smirked as she placed on her smaller mask. She glanced up, his usual stoic expression present, though his eyes were not as hard as they usually were.

His eyebrow raised. "What the fuck is that?"

Her hands raised to her mask before laughing at the soft fabric under her fingers. "It's a shooting star! I couldn't sleep last night, so I used some sewing material to stitch it in. It's cool, right?!"

"You look stupid."

"You look stupid," she retorted like a child. "with your stupid face that never changes expression. Honestly, do you have more than one emotion, or are you just hiding it? Does smiling hurt?"

"I'll hurt you if you keep talking."

Thia laughed, surprising Levi; it was not the usual response to his threats. She closed her eyes as she fell into a fit of giggles. "Sorry," she spluttered out, her arms wrapping around her torso. "Sorry, I just - sorry - I - shit -" she could not get a sentence out without laughing midway through. Levi was puzzled, he turned to walk away, but she grabbed his hand.

"Sorry," she calmed down. "I was being stupid."

Levi was still confused but was not bothered for further information. "Nothing out of the usual then. Get your horse ready. We're leaving in 5."

Levi left her alone in the stable, left her to her thoughts. Her right-hand gently grabbed her left wrist, remembering the pain from her nightmare, which had nearly completed faded from her mind. The fear from it was gone. Levi had a way of doing that; it was odd but comforting.

-

Thia stayed close to Levi, Yosefina and Hange as the Scouts made their through the city to the wall.

The nerves started to kick in. Her dream was forgotten, but the real nightmare was about to begin. She had never seen a Titan before. She honestly did not know what to expect from them. She only knew the information provided by the other scouts, and the more she heard about them, the less she wanted to encounter them.

Not only that, but many of the townspeople stood on the sides of the road, watching as the scouts went by on their horses. Thia kept her head down, not wanting to meet anyone eyes, fear running through her that someone could recognise her. Even if Levi did make her feel at ease, it did not change the fact that others would want her.

"Stay close," Levi said as the gate opened and the scouts started to split off. She nodded and followed, and in a few minutes, the large clump of scouts spread out across the land, scattered out like seeds on a farm, each in their own groups of two or three.

"Hange said something about a formation; should I know about it?" she asked.

"Normally you should, but we had no time, just stay by me, and you'll be fine."

"And the flares?" she looked down at the set packed into the bag attached to her horse.

"Each colour represents a different piece of information. Again we had no time to go through it. For now, you need to look out for two colours. Black and Green."

"Which means?"

"Black means an abnormal titan was spotted, and green is the new direction we have to head in. Got it?"

Thia nodded. Levi told her about Abnormal titans before. They were uncommon but were considered more dangerous than a normal Titan as their movements were unpredictable.

"So, what's the actual mission? What are we doing?" It was surprising that she did not know the information beforehand, but she had been so busy training she had not even thought about it before.

"When Wall Maria was lost, the ones who survived were forced to live in Wall Sina. But there is not enough space for them."

Thia looked at him. "So people don't have homes?"

"Or food."

"So the only way for the people to return to their lives is it to retake Wall Maria?"

"Yes."

"But it's not that simple?"

"No, it's not. These missions are to go villages, clear out Titans and look for survivors."

"Survivors? Do you think there could be any?"

Levi did not reply, and she took that as her answer. The chances of any survivors were close to none. If a Titan did not eat them, they would have died from dehydration or starvation.

"Is there a plan to close the hole that the Armoured Titan created? Even if we take out every Titan we see, won't they just keep coming if the hole is open?"

"Stay focused on the mission at hand." Was Levi's reply, making it apparent the topic of conversation was over.

Nothing else was said for a while, but Thia did not mind. She took in the scenery, the beauty of the countryside. Even if she had been above ground for three weeks, her view now was far different. Feilds covered the land, grass covering every inch of the floor, trees were dotted around, only a few clumped together at a time, but even then to Thia they looked beautiful.

A sudden blast caught Thia off guard. Her head whipped to the left; black smoke lingered in the sky. "Was that a flare?" she had never heard or seen one before.

"Yes."

"That's where Hange and Yosefina are..." she muttered, unintending for Levi to hear.

"They'll be fine. Keep an eye out for the green flare, and follow it's direction."

Thia's eyebrows pulled together as she unconsciously slowed down on her horse and watched the black smoke start to disappear into the air. Another blast echoed, and a green flare flew into the sky, directing towards the right.

"Let's go," Levi said.

Thia directed her horse to follow him, but her eyes continued looking to the left. It felt wrong to go the other way when she knew people could be in danger.

"They'll be fine." He said, a tinged of annoyance in his voice.

Thia sighed softly; she had to trust him. As she focused her attention back on him, she froze.

_"RUN!"_

_"It's too fast!"_

_"What do we do?"_

_"Should we kill it?"_

Thia's head snapped to the left. The voices were unfamiliar, but she knew what they were referring too.

"What are you doing?" Levi growled, turning his horse to face her.

_"Shit! HELP!"_

As a blood-curdling scream entered her ears, Thia kicked her horse in the direction of the soundwaves.

"THIA!" Levi screamed after her, but she ignored him, focusing on following the cries of her comrades.

_"What do we do?!"_

_"Get to the tree line!"_ That sounded like Hange.

_"Do we send up another flare?!"_

_"No, we need to take them out!"_ That was Yosefina's voice.

Levi had no choice but to follow Thia as she contuied full speed. Not once did she look behind to acknowledge his yells. She focused on one thing, and nothing was going to stop her.

Another scream entered her ears. Thia pulled herself closer to her horse, her heels kicking its side, making him go faster. She stayed calm, following the soundwaves. Their voices grew louder. She was getting close.

 _"We're getting close to the forest!"_ Hange said.

Thia looked to her right; in the distance, a set of trees filled the horizon. They were tall and thick - similar to the ones she had been training in back at the base. She swerved her horse in the direction. That's where her comrades were heading; she needed to meet them along the way before it was too late.

 _"Don't stop, were nearly there!"_ Hange _._

 _"There's another one coming the left!"_ Yosefina _._

Even in the thick of the forest Thia had no trouble following their voice; she was getting closer, slowly but surely. She looked up to the trees.

"They are no longer on their horses!" Thia yelled. It was the first time she acknowledged Levi since running off. "They are going to try to take the Titans out!"

Before he had a chance to reply, Thia activated her ODM gear and launched high into the trees. She zipped from branch to branch, the voices grew louder with each swing, and in a few minutes, she saw her friends ahead.

"HANGE! YOSEFINA!" She called out to them.

But as she landed on a tree branch, she froze. On the floor, reaching up for her friends, stood a _Titan_. It was tall. 10 meters at least. It's not what she imagined, she expected it to be creature-like, but it looked so _human_. She had never been so terrified. She watched as its hands clawed at the bark, its eyes glued to Hange and Yosefina.

Thia took an unconscious step backwards, the thought of it grabbing her sending a shiver down her spine. It could eat her in one bite. It could kill her with a single hit. _What were these creatures? This is what they were meant to fight? How? How was she meant to get its nape to kill it, if with a single swoop it could kill her?_

With every thought she had about Titans, she could never truly prepare for when she finally faced them. No matter how many times Levi warned her, no matter how many times he explained, being thrown into deep water when you were just a trainee swimmer would never end well.

Levi stopped beside her. He was furious, and it was radiating off him. But she did not care. Not when something far scarier had turned it's attention to them.

"What are you doing?" Thia grabbed Levi's jacket as he took a step forward.

His eyes narrowed, glancing down at her grip on his arm. "You haven't given me much choice," he snarled.

"You're going to fight them?" Levi looked away, stepping forward again, but she pulled him back. "You can't! You'll die."

Levi's head snapped to her; his jaw clenched and teeth-baring. He took a step towards her, forcing her to back up into the base of the tree. She realised her grip on him, her hands planting on the tree trunk behind her for balance.

Then suddenly everything became red and black. A piercing scream penetrated her eardrum. Everything slowed. She let out a shaky breath; her whiff lingered in the air in front of her. Her head turned to the right. A Titan held a young comrade in its hand. Tears streamed down the boy's pale face, his eyes wide with fear as he screamed. The Titan's mouth opened, bringing the boy closer.

Thia pulled her blades from her holster in a single motion and sent her grapples flying forward with no hesitation. Her blades sliced through the Titan's wrist, the cut deep, making it release its hold on the young comrade. Hange was quick to grab him and take in high into a tree for safety.

Thia's eyes were hard when she turned around, shooting forward for another slice into the Titan, that time, taking out the back of its heels. Each time her finger activated the grapples, she took a deep breath, keeping herself composed. She swung freely from tree to tree that surrounded the Titan, dodging its hands that tried to grab her mid-air. Her feet planted firmly on the side of a trunk as she zoned in on its nape.

The voices around her echoed as if the sound was hitting her eardrum then bouncing out. The world around blurred as her grapples attached to a tree branch, and she launched forward, her arms swung back, preparing her final strike.

**_CRACK_ **

The tree branch broke.

Thia snapped back to reality as she pummeled towards the floor. She let out a screech before colliding with the ground. A strained groan escaped her lips, her body instantly shooting with pain. Her hand lifted to her throbbing head as she sat up.

"SKYE! LOOK OUT!"

Thia looked up; the Titan stared down at her; it leaned towards her, grinning. She froze as she saw her reflection in its large beady eyes. Her Scout Uniform transformed into a white gown, her face aged down, and suddenly, she was back to her eight-year-old self.

Useless. Terrified. Worthless.

The Titan's hand lifted, hovering over her. Thia whimpered, staring up at it. No doubt it would kill her instantly. Her mouth dropped open, but she could not speak. She yelled at herself to move, but she was like a deer in headlights. Her blood went cold as the Titan's hand propelled downwards.

_OOFT_

Levi's arm collided with Thia's stomach as he skimmed under the Titan's hand, just about slipping from its grasp. He held her tightly, flying to the top of a tree and roughly putting her down.

"Levi..." she breathed, struggling to process what had happened.

"Don't move," he ordered before flying off, taking down the Titans with ease.

Thia's eyes shut, her head leaning back on the tree as she focused on calming herself down. Her adrenaline was through the roof, her hands shaking and heart racing. It had been a long time since she had experienced fear that was real. The nightmares had nothing on Titans.

"Go, we'll catch up. Find Erwin and tell him what happened." Levi told Hange and Yosefina.

"Will she be okay?" Hange asked, nodding up to Thia.

"She'll be fine."

Before he could fly up to her, Yosefina grabbed his arm. "Please don't be too hard on her."

" _Tch_." He snatched his arm away before grappling up to Thia. She stood when he arrived, her arms wrapped around her self and eyes looking anywhere but him.

"Want to explain what the fuck just happened?"

She did not reply.

"Not only did you ignore a direct order, but you nearly got yourself killed!"

Thia did not need to look at him to know he was glaring at her; she could feel his stare burning through her skull.

"You better have a good answer; otherwise, you won't be a scout for much longer."

She bit down on her bottom lip, her foot tapping anxiously. "I can't help it!" She blurted out, her arms following suit. "I heard them, Levi! They needed help!"

"You heard them? How? They were miles away."

Her arms returned to hugging herself. "I don't know," she muttered. "I just always been able too. It's like a sixth sense."

"A sixth sense?"

"Yeah... I could be on one side of the Underground and hear people on the complete opposite side."

"That's impossible. You would have to hear every conversation happening around you."

Thia shook her head. "I don't know how it works, but I hear when people are in danger. I see their soundwaves, so I know where they are."

" _See_ their soundwaves?" he scoffed.

"I'm not lying!" Her arms landed by her side, hands balled in a fist.

"I never said you were." Levi looked off into the distance as it grew quiet for a moment. "It does not change the fact that you nearly got yourself killed. Want to tell me that's part of your sixth sense too? Cause that then is an excuse for your stupidity."

He looked back at her, and she finally met his gaze. She was surprised to see it was not his usual cold stare but a mix of things she could not understand. He was like reading a book that was in a completely different language.

"I don't know."

He stalked towards her, his hand grabbing the top of her shirt. "What do you mean you don't know? Not only did you put yourself at risk, but you could have put others as well! You can't just charge in whenever you want. This isn't one of the jobs in the Underground! Your actions do not revolve around you!" He was furious.

"I know, I didn't mean too. Instinct just kicked in; it took over."

"What do you mean?" he snarled, her shirt still balled in his fist.

"I learnt to control it in the Underground. When someone is in need, my body just moves, though, in the beginning, I didn't understand what was happening, and when I came back to reality, I was in situations I didn't know how to get out of. It's why I'm such a good fighter; I just know what my opponent's next move will be. Again, it's like a sixth sense."

Levi let go of her, walking away, trying to process her words. "You're telling me you have a sixth sense and an instinct. What are you going to tell me next, that you shit your bed?"

"That literally makes no sense - I'm convinced you just like saying the word shit."

Levi ignored her comment, his hands balling into a fist; even with the explanation, he was furious. "I don't care what it is; you need to learn to control it. You can't just run off whenever you want! We have orders, and we need to follow them."

"But people were in danger! I saved the kid's life!"

"You need to learn to trust your comrades! Everyone in the Scouts has trained for years; they know what to do-"

"That kid would have died if I did not turn up!"

"You don't know that!" Levi stormed over to her. "This time, you saved him, but next time you could be the reason someone dies."

Thia broke their eye contact. Part of her knew he was right. She had no idea what would have happened when she ran off to help. If it were not for her instinct kicking in, she would have been useless - even then, she nearly died.

"I can't just ignore when people are in danger," she mumbled. "I'm Faceless; people rely on me-"

"You're Faceless in the Underground. Not here."

"I'm nothing without Faceless. I protect people, they reply and trus-"

"No," Levi's finger poked her chest. She met his piercing grey eyes. "you're Thia, is that not your name?"

Her breath got caught in her throat. "Is it."

"Faceless works alone. Thia is in my squad. Make a decision."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a Twitter just for writing, it is @karasunowriting - https://twitter.com/karasunowriting
> 
> Feel free to follow, I'll say when I post new updates and al the story ideas I have!


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